THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


GIFT  OF 

PROFESSOR 
BENJAMIN  H.  LEHMAN 


SHAKESPEARE'S 


TRAGEDY  OF 


C  Y  M  B  E  L  I  N  E. 


EDITED,  WITH  NOTES, 


WILLIAM   J.  ROLFE,  A.M., 

FORMERLY    HEAD   MASTER   OF   THE   HIGH   SCHOOL,  CAMBRIDGE,  MASS. 


WITH  ENGRAVINGS. 


NEW    YORK: 

HARPER  &  BROTHERS,  PUBLISHERS, 

FRANKLIN     SQUARE. 
1884. 


ENGLISH     CLASSICS. 

EDITED  BY  WM.  J.  ROLFE,  A.M. 

Illustrated.     i6mo,  Cloth,  56  cents  per  volume ;   Paper,  40  cents  per  volume. 


bHAKESPJ 

The  Merchant  of  Venice. 

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Richard  II. 

Henry  IV.     Part  I. 

Henry  IV.     Part  II. 

Henry  V. 

Richard  III. 

Henry  VIII. 

King  Lear. 


;ARE'S  WORKS. 

The  Taming  of  the  Shrew. 

All's  Well  that  Ends  Well. 

Coriolanus. 

The  Comedy  of  Errors. 

Cymbeline. 

Antony  and  Cleopatra. 

Measure  for  Measure. 

Merry  Wives  of  Windsor. 

Love's  Labour  's  Lost. 

Two  Gentlemen  of  Verona. 

Timon  of  Athens. 

Troilus  and  Cressida. 

Henry  VI.     Part  I. 

Henry  VI.     Part  II. 

Henry  VI.     Part  III. 

Pericles,  Prince  of  Tyre. 

The  Two  Noble  Kinsmen. 

Venus  and  Adonis,  Lucrece,  etc. 

Sonnets. 

Titus  Andronicus. 


GOLDSMITH'S  SELECT  POEMS. 
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PUBLISHED  BY  HARPER  &  BROTHERS,  NEW  YORK. 

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Copyright,  1881,  by  HARPER  &  BROTHERS. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

INTRODUCTION  TO  CYMBELINE 9 

I.  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  PLAY 9 

II.  THE  SOURCES  OF  THE  PLOT 1 1 

III.  CRITICAL  COMMENTS  ON  THE  PLAY 12 

CYMBELINE 39 

ACT  1 41 

"    II 67 

"III 84 

"  IV...                                                                                           .  no 


V. 


•  • 130 

NOTES .161 


821 


VIEW  NEAR  MILFORD. 


INTRODUCTION 

TO 

CYMBELINE. 


I.    THE    HISTORY   OF    THE    PLAY. 

Cymbeline  was  first  printed  in  the  folio  of  1623,  where  it  is 
the  last  play  in  the  volume,  occupying  pages  369-399  (mis- 
printed 993)  in  the  division  of  "  Tragedies."  The  earliest 
allusion  to  it  that  has  been  discovered  is  in  Dr.  Simon  For- 
man's  MS.  Diary  (see  Richard  II.  p.  13,  M.  N.  D.  p.  10,  and 
W.  T.  p.  10),  which  belongs  to  the  years  1610  and  1611. 
His  sketch  of  the  plot  (not  dated)  is  as  follows  :* 

*  As  given  in  the  New  Shaks.  Soc,  Transactions  for  1875-6,  p.  417. 


I0  CYMBELINE. 

"  Remember  also  the  storri  of  Cymbalin  king  of  England, 
in  Lucius  tyme,  howe  Lucius  Cam  from  Octauus  Cesar  for 
Tribut,  and  being  denied,  after  sent  Lucius  wM  a  greate 
Arme  of  Souldiars  who  landed  at  milford  hauen,  and  Affter 
wer  vanquished  by  Cimbalin,  and  Lucius  taken  prisoner,  and 
all  by  means  of  3  outlawes,  of  the  w^/ch  2  of  them  were  the 
sonns  of  Cimbalim,  stolen  from  him  when  they  but  2  yers 
old  by  an  old  man  whom  Cymbalin  banished,  and  he  kept 
them  as  his  own  sonns  20  yers  w/t/£  him  in  A  caue.  And 
howe  [one]  of  them  slewe  Clotan,  that  was  the  quens  sonn, 
goinge  To  milford  hauen  to  sek  the  loue  of  Innogen  the 
kingly  daughter,  whom  he  had  banished  also  for  louinge  his 
daughter,  and  howe  the  Italian  that  cam  from  her  loue  con- 

o 

veied  him  selfe  into  A  Cheste,  and  said  yt  was  a  chest  of 
plate  sent  from  her  loue  &  others,  to  be  presented  to  the 
kinge.  And  in  the  depest  of  the  night,  she  being  aslepe,  he 
opened  the  cheste  &  cam  forth  of  yt,  And  vewed  her  in  her 
bed,  and  the  markes  of  her  body,  &  toke  a-wai  her  braslet,  & 
after  Accused  her  of  adultery  to  her  loue,  &c.  And  in  thend 
howe  he  came  w/t£  the  Remains  into  England  &  was  taken 
prisoner,  and  after  Reueled  to  Innogen  who  had  turned  her 
self  into  mans  apparrell  &  fled  to  mete  her  loue  at  milford 
hauen,  &  chanchsed  to  fall  on  the  Caue  in  the  wod^f  wher 
her  2  brothers  were,  &  howe  by  eating  a  sleping  Dram  they 
thought  she  had  bin  deed,  &  laid  her  in  the  wod^r,  &  the 
body  of  cloten  by  her  in  her  loues  apparrell  that  he  left  be- 
hind him,  &  howe  she  was  found  by  lucius,  &c." 

The  play  was  probably  a  new  one  when  Forman  saw  it  in 
1610  or  1611.  Drake  dates  it  in  1605,  Chalmers  in  1606, 
Malone  in  1609  (after  having  at  first  assigned  it  to  1605), 
Fleay  (Introd.  to  Shakespearian  Study)  "circa  1609,"  White 
"  1609  or  1610,"  Delius,  Furnivall,  and  Stokes  in  1610,  Dow- 
den  and  Ward  at  about  the  time  when  Forman  saw  it.  The 
internal  evidence  of  style  and  metre  indicates  that  it  was 
one  of  the  latest  of  the  plays. 


INTRODUCTION.  T  t 

Cymbeline  is  badly  printed  in  the  folio,  and  the  involved 
style  makes  the  correction  of  the  text  a  task  of  more  than 
usual  difficulty.  The  critics  generally  agree  that  the  vision 
in  v.  4  cannot  be  Shakespeare's.  Ward  considers  that  "  there 
is  no  reason,  on  account  of  its  style,  which  reminds  one  of 
the  prefatory  lines  to  the  cantos  of  the  Faerie  Queene,  to  im- 
pugn Shakespeare's  authorship  of  it;"  but  it  seems  to  us 
very  clearly  the  work  of  another  hand.  Cf.  the  rhymed  epi- 
sode in  A.  Y.  L.  v.  4.  113  fol.,  and  see  oui  ed.  p.  199  (note 
on  136). 

II.    THE   SOURCES    OF   THE    PLOT. 

The  poet  took  the  names  of  Cymbeline  and  his  two  sons 
from  Holinshed,  together  with  a  few  historical  facts  concern- 
ing the  king  ;  but  the  story  of  the  stealing  of  the  princes  and 
of  their  life  in  the  wilderness  appears  to  be  his  own.* 

The  story  of  Imogen,  which  is  so  admirably  interwoven 
with  that  of  the  sons  of  Cymbeline,  was  taken,  directly  or  in- 
directly, from  the  Decamerone  of  Boccaccio,  in  which  it  forms 
the  ninth  novel  of  the  second  day.  No  English  translation 
of  it  is  known  to  have  been  made  in  Shakespeare's  time.  A 
version  appeared  in  a  tract  entitled  Westward  for  Smelts, 
which  was  published  in  1620.  Malone  speaks  of  an  edition 
of  1603  \  but  this  is  probably  an  error,  as  the  book  was  not 
entered  upon  the  Stationers'  Registers  until  1619-20.  This 
translation,  moreover,  lacks  some  important  details  which  the 
play  has  in  common  with  the  Italian  original.f 

*  It  has  been  pointed  out  by  K.  Schenkl  that  the  incidents  of  Imogen's 
seeking  refuge  in  the  wilderness  and  her  deathlike  sleep  occur  in  the  Ger- 
man fairy-tale  of  Schtteewittchen. 

f  For  an  outline  of  Boccaccio's  novel,  see  the  extract  from  Mrs.  Jame- 
son below.  The  chief  incidents  of  the  story  had  been  used  in  a  French 
miracle-play  of  the  Middle  Ages,  and  also  in  the  old  French  romances  of 
La  Violette  and  Flore  etjehanne ;  but  we  have  no  reason  to  suppose  that 
Shakespeare  made  any  use  of  these.  In  one  of  the  romances  the  lady 
has  a  mole  upon  her  right  breast ;  in  Boccaccio,  as  in  Shakespeare,  it  is 
on  her  left  breast.  This  mark  is  not  mentioned  at  all  in  Westward  for 


I2  CYMBELINE. 

But,  as  Verplanck  remarks,  "  from  whatever  source  the 
idea  of  the  plot  might  have  been  immediately  drawn,  the 
poet  owes  to  his  predecessors  nothing  more  than  the  bare 
outline  of  two  or  three  leading  incidents.  These  he  has 
raised,  refined,  and  elevated  into  a  higher  sphere  ;  while  the 
characters,  dialogue,  circumstances,  details,  descriptions, — 
the  lively  interest  of  the  plot,  its  artful  involution  and  skilful 
development, — are  entirely  his  own.  He  has  given  to  what 
were  originally  scenes  of  coarse  and  tavern-like  profligacy  a 
dignity  suited  to  the  state  and  character  of  his  personages, 
and  has  poured  over  the  whole  the  golden  light,  the  rainbow 
hues,  of  imaginative  poetry." 

III.    CRITICAL    COMMENTS    ON    THE    PLAY. 

[From  SchlegePs  "Dramatic  Literature"  *] 

Cymbeline  is  one  of  Shakspeare's  most  wonderful  compo- 
sitions. He  has  here  combined  a  novel  of  Boccaccio's  with 
traditionary  tales  of  the  ancient  Britons,  reaching  back  to 

Smelts.  In  the  latter,  moreover,  the  person  corresponding  to  lachimo 
conceals  himself  under  the  bed  in  the  lady's  chamber,  while  in  the  French 
and  Italian  versions  he  is  conveyed  thither  in  a  chest. 

White  has  noted  another  circumstance  which  seems  to  show  that 
Shakespeare  went  directly  to  Boccaccio,  and  that  the  Winter's  Tale  and 
Cymbeline  were  composed  at  about  the  same  period :  "  In  Boccaccio's 
novel  the  convicted  slanderer  is  condemned  by  the  Sultan  to  be  anointed 
with  honey,  and  exposed  to  the  rays  of  the  sun,  tied  to  a  stake  upon 
some  elevated  spot,  and  to  remain  there  until  his  flesh  falls  away  from 
his  bones.  From  this  doom  it  seems  quite  clear  that  Shakespeare  took 
the  hint  for  that  mock  sentence  which  Autolycus  passes  upon  the  young 
clown  in  W.  T.  iv.  4.  812  :  '  He  has  a  son  who  shall  be  flayed  alive  ;  then 
'nointed  over  with  honey  .  .  .  then,  raw  as  he  is,  and  in  the  hottest  day 
prognostication  proclaims,  shall  he  be  set  against  a  brick  wall,  the  sun 
looking  with  a  southward  eye  upon  him,  where  he  is  to  behold  him  with 
flies  blown  to  death.'  " 

Westward  for  Smelts  is  reprinted  in  the  "Variorum"  ed.  of  1821,  vol. 
xiii.,  and  in  Collier's  Shakespeare^s  Library -,  vol.  ii. 

*  Lectures  on  Dramatic  Art  and  Literature,  by  A.  W.  Schlegel ;  Black's 
translation,  revised  by  Morrison  (London,  1846),  p.  397  fol. 


INTRODUCTION.  !^ 

the  times  of  the  first  Roman  Emperors,  and  he  has  contrived, 
by  the  most  gentle  transitions,  to  blend  together  into  one 
harmonious  whole  the  social  manners  of  the  newest  times 
with  olden  heroic  deeds,  and  even  with  appearances  of  the 
gods.  In  the  character  of  Imogen  no  one  feature  of  female 
excellence  is  omitted :  her  chaste  tenderness,  her  softness, 
and  her  virgin  pride,  her  boundless  resignation,  and  her  mag- 
nanimity towards  her  mistaken  husband,  by  whom  she  is  un- 
justly persecuted,  her  adventures  in  disguise,  her  apparent 
death,  and  her  recovery,  form  altogether  a  picture  equally 
tender  and  affecting.  The  two  Princes,  Guiderius  and  Ar- 
viragus,  both  educated  in  the  wilds,  form  a  noble  contrast  to 
Miranda  and  Perdita.  Shakspeare  is  fond  of  showing  the 
superiority  of  the  natural  over  the  artificial.  Over  the  art 
which  enriches  nature,  he  somewhere  says,  there  is  a  higher 
art  created  by  nature  herself.  As  Miranda's  unconscious 
and  unstudied  sweetness  is  more  pleasing  than  those  charms 
which  endeavour  to  captivate  us  by  the  brilliant  embellish- 
ments of  a  refined  cultivation/so  in  these  two  youths,  to 
whom  the  chase  has  given  vigour  and  hardihood,  but  who  are 
ignorant  of  their  high  destination,  and  have  been  brought  up 
apart  from  human  society,  we  are  equally  enchanted  by  a 
naive  heroism  which  leads  them  to  anticipate  and  to  dream 
of  deeds  of  valour,  till  an  occasion  is  offered  which  they  are 
irresistibly  compelled  to  embrace.!  When  Imogen  comes  in 
disguise  to  their  cave  ;  when,  with  all  the  innocence  of  child- 
hood, Guiderius  and  Arviragus  form  an  impassioned  friend- 
ship for  the  tender  boy,  in  whom  they  neither  suspect  a  fe- 
male nor  their  own  sister  \  when,  on  their  return  from  the 
chase  they  find  her  dead,  then  "  sing  her  to  the  ground,"  and 
cover  the  grave  with  flowers — these  scenes  might  give  to 
the  most  deadened  imagination  a  new  life  for  poetry.  If  a 
tragical  event  is  only  apparent  in  such  case,  whether  the 
spectators  are  already  aware  of  it  or  ought  merely  to  suspect 
it,  Shakspeare  always  knows  how  to  mitigate  the  impres- 


I4  CYMBELINE. 

sion  without  weakening  it:  he  makes  the  mourning  musical, 
that  it  may  gain  in  solemnity  what  it  loses  in  seriousness. 
With  respect  to  the  other  parts,  the  wise  and  vigorous  Be- 
larius,  who  after  long  living  as  a  hermit  again  becomes  a 
hero,  is  a  venerable  figure  ;  the  Italian  lachimo's  ready  dis- 
simulation and  quick  presence  of  mind  is  quite  suitable  to 
the  bold  treachery  which  he  plays  ;  Cymbeline,  the  father  of 
Imogen,  and  even  her  husband  Posthumus,  during  the  first 
half  of  the  piece,  are  somewhat  sacrificed,  but  this  could  not 
be  otherwise ;  the  false  and  wicked  Queen  is  merely  an  in- 
strument of  the  plot;  she  and  her  stupid  son  Cloten  (the 
only  comic  part  in  the  piece)  whose  rude  arrogance  is  por- 
trayed with  much  humour,  are,  before  the  conclusion,  got  rid 
f^of  by  merited  punishment.  As  for  the  heroical  part  of  the 
\  fable,  the  war  between  the  Romans  and  Britons,  which  brings 
J  on  the  denouement,  the  poet  in  the  extent  of  his  plan  had  so 
i  little  room  to  spare  that  he  merely  endeavours  to  represent  it 
<^as  a  mute  procession.  But  to  the  last  scene,  where  all  the 
numerous  threads  of  the  knot  are  untied,  he  has  again  given 
its  full  development,  that  he  might  collect  together  into  one 
focus  the  scattered  impressions  of  the  whole.  This  example 
and  many  others  are  a  sufficient  refutation  of  Johnson's  as- 
sertion, that  Shakspeare  usually  hurries  over  the  conclusion 
of  his  pieces.  Rather  does  he,  from  a  desire  to  satisfy  the 
feelings,  introduce  a  great  deal  which,  so  far  as  the  under- 
standing of  the  denouement  requires,  might,  in  a  strict  sense, 
be  justly  spared  :  our  modern  spectators  are  much  more  im- 
patient to  see  the  curtain  drop,  when  there  is  nothing  more 
to  be  determined,  than  those  of  his  day  could  have  been. 

[From  Drake^s  "  Shakespeare  and  his  Times"  *] 
This  play,  if  not  in  the  construction  of  its  fable  one  of  the 
most  perfect  of  our  author's  productions,  is,  in  point  of  poetic 

*  Shakespeare  and  his  Ttmes,by  Nathan  Drake,  M.D.  (London,  1817), 
vol.  ii.  p.  466. 


INTRODUCTION.  15 

beauty,  of  variety  and  truth  of  character,  and  in  the  display 
of  sentiment  and  emotion,  one  of  the  most  lovely  and  inter- 
esting. Nor  can  we  avoid  expressing  our  astonishment  at 
the  sweeping  condemnation  which  Johnson  has  passed  upon 
it ;  charging  its  fiction  with  folly,  its  conduct  with  absurdity, 
its  events  with  impossibility ;  terming  its  faults  too  evident 
for  detection  and  too  gross  for  aggravation. 

Of  the  enormous  injustice  of  this  sentence,  nearly  every 
page  of  Cymbeline  will,  to  a  reader  of  any  taste  or  discrimi- 
nation, bring  the  most  decisive  evidence.  That  it  possesses 
many  of  the  too  common  inattentions  of  Shakspeare,  that  it 
exhibits  a  frequent  violation  of  costume,  and  a  singular  con- 
fusion of  nomenclature,  cannot  be  denied  ;  but  these  are  tri- 
fles light  as  air  when  contrasted  with  its  merits,  which  are 
of  the  very  essence  of  dramatic  worth,  rich  and  full  in  all 
that  breathes  of  vigour,  animation,  and  intellect,  in  all  that 
elevates  the  fancy  and  improves  the  heart,  in  all  that  fills 
the  eye  with  tears  or  agitates  the  soul  with  hope  and  fear. 

Imogen,  the  most  lovely  and  perfect  of  Shakspeare's  fe- 
male characters — the  pattern  of  connubial  love  and  chastity, 
by  the  delicacy  and  propriety  of  her  sentiments,  by  her  sen- 
sibility, tenderness,  and  resignation,  by  her  patient  endurance 
of  persecution  from  the  quarter  where  she  had  confidently 
looked  for  endearment  and  protection — irresistibly  seizes 
upon  our  affections. 

The  scenes  which  disclose  the  incidents  of  her  pilgrimage  ; 
her  reception  at  the  cave  of  Belarius  ;  her  intercourse  with 
her  lost  brothers,  who  are  ignorant  of  their  birth  and  rank  ; 
her  supposed  death,  funeral  rites,  and  resuscitation,  are 
wrought  up  with  a  mixture  of  pathos  and  romantic  wildness 
peculiarly  characteristic  of  our  author's  genius,  and  which 
has  had  but  few  successful  imitators.  Among  these  few 
stands  pre-eminent  the  poet  Collins,  who  seems  to  have  trod- 
den this  consecrated  ground  with  a  congenial  mind,  and  who 
has  sung  the  sorrows  of  Ficlele  in  strains  worthy  of  their  sub- 


!6  CYMBELINE. 

ject,  and  which  will  continue  to  charm  the  mind  and  soothe 
the  heart  "till  pity's  self  be  dead." 

When  compared  with  this  fascinating  portrait,  the  other 
personages  of  the  drama  appear  but  in  a  secondary  light. 
Yet  are  they  adequately  brought  out  and  skilfully  diversified : 
the  treacherous  subtlety  of  lachimo  ;  the  sage  experience  of 
Belarius  ;^the  native  nobleness  of  heart  and  innate  heroism 

I  of  mind  which  burst  forth  in  the  vigorous  sketches  of  Guide- 
rius  and  Arviragusj)  the  temerity,  credulity,  and  penitence 
of  Posthumus ;  the  uxorious  weakness  of  Cymbeline ;  the 
hypocrisy  of  his  Queen  ;  and  the  comic  arrogance  of  Cloten, 
half  fool  and  half  knave,  produce  a  striking  diversity  of  ac- 
tion and  sentiment. 

Poetical  justice  has  been  strictly  observed  in  this  drama ; 
the  vicious  characters  meet  the  punishment  due  to  their 
crimes ;  while  virtue,  in  all  its  various  degrees,  is  propor- 
tionably  rewarded.  The  scene  of  retribution,  which  is  the 
closing  one  of  the  play,  is  a  masterpiece  of  skill  ;  the  devel- 
opment of  the  plot,  for  its  fulness,  completeness,  and  inge- 
nuity, surpassing  any  effort  of  the  kind  among  our  author's 
contemporaries,  and  atoning  for  any  partial  incongruity  which 
the  structure  or  conduct  of  the  story  may  have  previously 
displayed. 

[From  Mrs.  Jameson 's  "  Characteristics  of  Women"  *] 
Others  of  Shakspeare's  characters  are,  as  dramatic  and 
poetical  conceptions,  more  striking,  more  brilliant,  more  pow- 
erful; but  of  all  his  women,  considered  as  individuals  rather 
than  as  heroines,  Imogen  is  the  most  perfect.     Portia  and 
Juliet  are  pictured  to  the  fancy  with  more  force  of  contrast, 
more  depth  of  light  and  shade ;  Viola   and  Miranda,  with 
more  aerial  delicacy  of  outline;  but  there  is  no  female  por- 
^j  trait  that  can  be  compared  to  Imogen  as  a  woman — none  in 
which  so  great  a  variety  of  tints  are  mingled  together  into 
*  American  ed.  (Boston,  1857),  p.  253  fol. 


INTRODUCTION.  !7 

such  perfect  harmony,  fin  her,  we  have  all  the  fervour  of 
youthful  tenderness,  all  the  romance  of  youthful  fancy,  all  the 
enchantment  of  ideal  grace — the  bloom  of  beauty,  the  bright- 
ness of  intellect,  and  the  dignity  of  rank  taking  a  peculiar 
hue  from  the  conjugal  character  which  is  shed  over  all,  like 
a  consecration  and  a  holy  charm.  I  In  Othello  and  the  Win- 
ter's Tale^  the  interest  excited  for  Desdemona  and  Hermione 
is  divided  with  others  ;V.but  in  Cymbeline,  Imogen  is  the  angel 
of  light,  whose  lovely  presence  pervades  and  animates  the 
whole  piece.  )  The  character  altogether  may  be  pronounced 
finer,  more  complex  in  its  elements,  and  more  fully  devel- 
oped in  all  its  parts,  than  those  of  Hermione  and  Desde- 
mona; but  the  position  in  which  she  is  placed  is  not,  I  think, 
so  fine — at  least,  not  so  effective,  as  a  tragic  situation. 

Shakspeare  has  borrowed  the  chief  circumstances  of  Imo- 
gen's story  from  one  of  Boccaccio's  tales. 

A  company  of  Italian  merchants  who  are  assembled  in  a 
tavern  at  Paris  are  represented  as  conversing  on  the  subject 
of  their  wives.  All  of  them  express  themselves  with  levity, 
or  scepticism,  or  scorn,  on  the  virtue  of  women,  except  a 
young  Genoese  merchant  named  Bernabo,  who  maintains 
that  by  the  especial  favour  of  Heaven  he  possesses  a  wife  no 
less  chaste  than  beautiful.  Heated  by  the  wine,  and  excited 
by  the  arguments  and  the  coarse  raillery  of  another  young 
merchant,  Ambrogiolo,  Bernabo  proceeds  to  enumerate  the 
various  perfections  and  accomplishments  of  his  Zinevra.  He 
praises  her  loveliness,  her  submission,  and  her  discretion — 
her  skill  in  embroidery,  her  graceful  service,  in  which  the  best 
trained  page  of  the  court  could  not  exceed  her;  and  he  adds, 
as  rarer  accomplishments,  that  she  could  mount  a  horse,  fly 
a  hawk,  write  and  read,  and  cast  up  accounts,  as  well  as  any 
merchant  of  them  all.  His  enthusiasm  only  excites  the 
laughter  and  mockery  of  his  companions,  particularly  of  Am- 
brogiolo, who,  by  the  most  artful  mixture  of  contradiction  and 
argument,  rouses  the  anger  of  Bernabo,  and  he  at  length  ex- 

B 


l8  CYMBELINE. 

claims  that  he  would  willingly  stake  his  life,  his  head,  on  the 
virtue  of  his  wife.  This  leads  to  the  wager  which  forms  so 
important  an  incident  in  the  drama.  Ambrogiolo  bets  one 
thousand  florins  of  gold  against  five  thousand  that  Zinevra, 
like  the  rest  of  her  sex,  is  accessible  to  temptation — that  in 
less  than  three  months  he  will  undermine  her  virtue,  and 
bring  her  husband  the  most  undeniable  proofs  of  her  false- 
hood. He  sets  off  for  Genoa  in  order  to  accomplish  his  pur- 
pose; but  on  his  arrival,  all  that  he  learns,  and  all  that  he  be- 
holds with  his  own  eyes,  of  the  discreet  and  noble  character 
of  the  lady,  make  him  despair  of  success  by  fair  means ;  he 
therefore  has  recourse  to  the  basest  treachery.  By  bribing 
an  old  woman  in  the  service  of  Zinevra,  he  is  conveyed  to 
her  sleeping  apartment  concealed  in  a  trunk,  from  which  he 
issues  in  the  dead  of  the  night;  he  takes  note  of  the  furniture 
of  the  chamber,  makes  himself  master  of  her  purse,  her  morn- 
ing robe,  or  cymar,  and  her  girdle,  and  of  a  certain  mark  on 
her  person.  He  repeats  these  observations  for  two  nights, 
and,  furnished  with  these  evidences  of  Zinevra's  guilt,  he  re- 
turns to  Paris,  and  lays  them  before  the  wretched  husband. 
Bernabo  rejects  every  proof  of  his  wife's  infidelity  except  that 
which  finally  convinces  Posthumus.  When  Ambrogiolo  men- 
tions the  "  mole,  cinque-spotted,"  he  stands  like  one  who  has 
received  a  poniard  in  his  heart;  without  further  dispute  he 
pays  down  the  forfeit,  and  filled  with  rage  and  despair  both 
at  the  loss  of  his  money  and  the  falsehood  of  his  wife,  he  re- 
turns towards  Genoa.  He  retires  to  his  country-house,  and 
sends  a  messenger  to  the  city  with  letters  to  Zinevra,  desiring 
that  she  would  come  and  meet  him,  but  with  secret  orders  to 
the  man  to  despatch  her  by  the  way.  The  servant  prepares 
to  execute  his  master's  command,  but  overcome  by  her  en- 
treaties for  mercy  and  his  own  remorse,  he  spares  her  life,  on 
condition  that  she  will  fly  from  the  country  forever.  He  then 
disguises  her  in  his  own  cloak  and  cap,  and  brings  back  to 
her  husband  the  assurance  that  she  is  killed,  and  that  her 


INTRODUCTION.  !9 

body  has  been  devoured  by  the  wolves.  In  the  disguise  of  a 
mariner,  Zinevra  then  embarks  on  board  a  vessel  bound  to  the 
Levant,  and  on  arriving  at  Alexandria  she  is  taken  into  the 
service  of  the  Sultan  of  Egypt,  under  the  name  of  Sicurano. 
She  gains  the  confidence  of  her  master,  who,  not  suspecting 
her  sex,  sends  her  as  captain  of  the  guard  which  was  ap- 
pointed for  the  protection  of  the  merchants  at  the  fair  of 
Acre.  Here  she  accidentally  meets  Ambrogiolo,  and  sees  in 
his  possession  the  purse  and  girdle,  which  she  immediately 
recognizes  as  her  own.  In  reply  to  her  inquiries,  he  relates 
with  fiendish  exultation  the  manner  in  which  he  had  obtain- 
ed possession  of  them,  and  she  persuades  him  to  go  back 
with  her  to  Alexandria.  She  then  sends  a  messenger  to 
Genoa  in  the  name  of  the  Sultan,  and  induces  her  husband 
to  come  and  settle  in  Alexandria.  At  a  proper  opportunity, 
she  summons  both  to  the  presence  of  the  Sultan,  obliges  Am- 
brogiolo to  make  a  full  confession  of  his  treachery,  and  wrings 
from  her  husband  the  avowal  of  his  supposed  murder  of  her- 
self; then,  falling  at  the  feet  of  the  Sultan,  discovers  her  real 
name  and  sex,  to  the  great  amazement  of  all.  Bernabo  is 
pardoned  at  the  prayer  of  his  wife,  and  Ambrogiolo  is  con- 
demned to  be  fastened  to  a  stake,  smeared  with  honey,  and 
left  to  be  devoured  by  the  flies  and  locusts.  This  horrible 
sentence  is  executed;  while  Zinevra,  enriched  by  the  pres- 
ents of  the  Sultan  and  the  forfeit  wealth  of  Ambrogiolo,  re- 
turns with  her  husband  to  Genoa,  where  she  lives  in  great 
honour  and  happiness,  and  maintains  her  reputation  of  virtue 
to  the  end  of  her  life. 

These  are  the  materials  from  which  Shakspeare  has  drawn 
the  dramatic  situation  of  Imogen.  He  has  also  endowed  her 
with  several  of  the  qualities  which  are  attributed  to  Zinevra; 
but  for  the  essential  truth  and  beauty  of  the  individual  char- 
acter, for  the  sweet  colouring  of  pathos,  and  sentiment,  and 
poetry  interfused  through  the  whole,  he  is  indebted  only  to 
nature  and  himself.  .  .  . 


20  CYMBELINE. 

When  Ferdinand  tells  Miranda  that  she  was  "  created  of 
every  creature's  best,"  he  speaks  like  a  lover,  or  refers  only 
to  her  personal  charms:  the  same  expression  might  be  ap- 
plied critically  to  the  character  of  Imogen ;  for,  as  the  por- 
trait of  Miranda  is  produced  by  resolving  the  female  charac- 
ter into  its  original  elements,  so  that  of  Imogen  unites  the 
greatest  number  of  those  qualities  which  we  imagine  to  con- 
stitute excellency  in  woman. 

Imogen,  like  Juliet,  conveys  to  our  mind  the  impression 
of  extreme  simplicity  in  the  midst  of  the  most  wonderful 
complexity.  To  conceive  her  aright,  we  must  take  some 
peculiar  tint  from  many  characters,  and  so  mingle  them  that, 
like  the  combination  of  hues  in  a  sunbeam,  the  effect  shall 
be  as  one  to  the  eye.  We  must  imagine  something  of  the 
romantic  enthusiasm  of  Juliet,  of  the  truth  and  constancy  of 
Helen,  of  the  dignified  purity  of  Isabel,  of  the  tender  sweet- 
ness of  Viola,  of  the  self-possession  and  intellect  of  Portia — 
combined  together  so  equally  and  so  harmoniously  that  we 
can  scarcely  say  that  one  quality  predominates  over  the  oth- 
er. But  Imogen  is  less  imaginative  than  Juliet,  less  spirited 
and  intellectual  than  Portia,  less  serious  than  Helen  and  Isa- 
bel; her  dignity  is  not  so  imposing  as  that  of  Hermione — it 
stands  more  on  the  defensive;  her  submission,  though  un- 
bounded, is  not  so  passive  as  that  of  Desdemona ;  and  thus, 
while  she  resembles  each  of  these  characters  individually, 
she  stands  wholly  distinct  from  all. 

It  is  true  that  the  conjugal  tenderness  of  Imogen  is  at 
once  the  chief  subject  of  the  drama  and  the  pervading  charm 
of  her  character;  but  it  is  not  true,  I  think,  that  she  is  mere- 
ly interesting  from  her  tenderness  and  constancy  to  her  hus- 
band. We  are  so  completely  let  into  the  essence  of  Imo- 
gen's nature  that  we  feel  as  if  we  had  known  and  loved  her 
before  she  was  married  to  Posthumus,  and  that  her  conjugal 
virtues  are  a  charm  superadded,  like  the  colour  laid  upon  a 
beautiful  groundwork.  Neither  does  it  appear  to  me  that 


INTRODUCTION.  21 

Posthumus  is  unworthy  of  Imogen,  or  only  interesting  on 
Imogen's  account.  His  character,  like  those  of  all  the  other 
persons  of  the  drama,  is  kept  subordinate  to  hers;  but  this 
could  not  be  otherwise,  for  she  is  the  proper  subject — the 
heroine  of  the  poem.  Everything  is  done  to  ennoble  Post- 
humus  and  justify  her  love  for  him;  and  though  we  certain- 
ly approve  him  more  for  her  sake  than  for  his  own,  we  are 
early  prepared  to  view  him  with  Imogen's  eyes,  and  not  only 
excuse,  but  sympathize  in  her  admiration  of  one 

"Who  sat  'mongst  men  like  a  descended  god; 

****** 

who  liv'd  in  court — 

Which  rare  it  is  to  do — most  prais'd,  most  lov'd ; 
A  sample  to  the  youngest,  to  the  more  mature 
A  glass  that  feated  them."  .  .  . 

One  thing  more  must  be  particularly  remarked,  because 
it  serves  to  individualize  the  character  from  the  beginning 
to  the  end  of  the  poem.  We  are  constantly  sensible  that 
Imogen,  besides  being  a  tender  and  devoted  woman,  is  a 
princess  and  a  beauty,  at  the  same  time  that  she  is  ever  su- 
perior to  her  position  and  her  external  charms.  There  is, 
for  instance,  a  certain  airy  majesty  of  deportment — a  spirit 
of  accustomed  command  breaking  out  every  now  and  then — 
the  dignity,  without  the  assumption,  of  rank  and  royal  birth, 
which  is  apparent  in  the  scene  with  Cloten  and  elsewhere; 
and  we  have  not  only  a  general  impression  that  Imogen,  like 
other  heroines,  is  beautiful,  but  the  peculiar  style  and  char- 
acter of  her  beauty  is  placed  before  us.  We  have  an  image 
of  the  most  luxuriant  loveliness,  combined  with  exceeding 
delicacy,  and  even  fragility,  of  person;  of  the  most  refined 
elegance  and  the  most  exquisite  modesty,  set  forth  in  one  or 
two  passages  of  description;  as  when  lachimo  is  contem- 
plating her  asleep: 

"  Cytherea, 

How  bravely  thou  becom'st  thy  bed  !  fresh  lily, 
And  whiter  than  the  sheets  ! 


22  CYMBELINE. 

7T  is  her  breathing  that 

Perfumes  the  chamber  thus.     The  flame  o'  the  taper 
Bows  toward  her,  and  would  underpeep  her  lids 
To  see  the  enclosed  lights,  now  canopied 
Under  those  windows,  white  and  azure,  lac'd 
With  blue  of  heaven's  own  tinct !" 

The  preservation  of  her  feminine  character  under  her 
masculine  attire;  her  delicacy,  her  modesty,  and  her  timid- 
ity, are  managed  with  the  same  perfect  consistency  and  un- 
conscious grace  as  in  Viola.  And  we  must  not  forget  that 
her  "  neat  cookery,"  which  is  so  prettily  eulogized  by  Guide- 
rius — 

"  He  cut  our  roots  in  characters, 
And  sauc'd  our  broths,  as  Juno  had  been  sick, 
And  he  her  dieter" — 

formed  part  of  the  education  of  a  princess  in  those  remote 
times.  .  .  . 

The  catastrophe  of  this  play  has  been  much  admired  for 
the  peculiar  skill  with  which  all  the  various  threads  of  inter- 
est are  gathered  together  at  last,  and  entwined  with  the  des- 
tiny of  Imogen.  It  may  be  added  that  one  of  its  chief  beau- 
ties is  the  manner  in  which  the  character  of  Imogen  is  not 
only  preserved,  but  rises  upon  us  to  the  conclusion  with 
added  grace:  her  instantaneous  forgiveness  of  her  husband 
before  he  even  asks  it,  when  she  flings  herself  at  once  into 
his  arms — 

"  Why  did  you  throw  your  wedded  lady  from  you?" — 

and  her  magnanimous  reply  to  her  father,  when  he  tells  her 
that  by  the  discovery  of  her  two  brothers  she  has  lost  a  king- 
dom— 

"  No — I  have  got  two  worlds  by  't " — 

clothing  a  noble  sentiment  in  a  noble  image,  give  the  finish- 
ing touches  of  excellence  to  this  most  enchanting  portrait. 

On  the  whole,  Imogen  is  a  lovely  compound  of  goodness, 
truth,  and  affection,  with  just  so  much  of  passion  and  intel- 


INTRODUCTION.  2^ 

lect  and  poetry  as  serve  to  lend  to  the  picture  that  power 
and  glowing  richness  of  effect  which  it  would  otherwise  have 
wanted;  and  of  her  it  might  be  said,  if  we  could  condescend 
to  quote  from  any  other  poet  with  Shakspeare  open  before 
us,  that  "  her  person  was  a  paradise  and  her  soul  the  cherub 
to  guard  it."* 

[From  Charles  Coivden-  Clarke' 's  "  Shakespeare-  Characters"^ 
It  is  not  my  purpose  to  enter  upon  a  discussion  of  the 
small  dramatic  proprieties,  as  these  are  observed  or  ignored 
in  the  play  of  Cymbeline.  They  who  are  interested  in  the 
rigidities,  perhaps  the  fussiness,  of  criticism, — who  take  more 
pleasure  in  detecting  a  lapse  in  the  unity  of  such  a  composi- 
tion as  this, — who  would  rather  pride  themselves  upon  ex- 
posing a  deficiency  in  its  chronology  than  in  displaying  its 
incomparable  force  and  beauty  of  passion  and  fancy,  of  ten- 
derness, imagery,  and  splendour  of  language, — are  referred 
to  the  supplementary  notices  of  the  Johnsonian  school  of 
criticism.  For  myself,  I  care  not  one  straw  about  the  viola- 
tion of  the  unities :  I  am  content  to  be  wafted  on  the  wings 
of  the  poet's  imagination,  and  to  be  with  him  to-day  in  Rome 
and  to-morrow  watching  the  weary  pilgrimage  of  the  divine 
Imogen  towards  Milford-Haven.  It  is  enough  for  me  that 
the  play  is  one  of  the  most  romantic  and  interesting  of 
Shakespeare's  dramas;  and  this  we  say  of  every  drama  of 
his,  as  we  read  them  in  succession.  The  romance  itself  of 
this  story  is  sublimated  by  an  intensity  of  passion  and  heart- 
ennobling  affection  and  endurance  that  I  have  yet  to  see  ex- 
celled. Of  all  his  heroines,  no  one  conveys  so  fully  the  ideal 
of  womanly  perfection  as  Imogen.  We  have  full  faith  in  the 
love  and  steadfast  endurance  of  Desdemona:  we  believe  that 

*  Dryden. 

t  From  the  unpublished  "Second  Series"  of  the  Shakespeare- Charac- 
ters (see  2  Hen.  IV.  p.  18),  kindly  sent  to  us  by  Mrs.  Mary  Covvden-Clarke 
for  publication  here. 


24  CYMBELINE. 

she  would  have  borne  more  than  her  lord's  jealousy  in  her 
personal  love  for  him;  but  Imogen  has  given  us  the  proof 
that  nothing  could  quench  the  pure  flame  of  affection  and 
devotedness  in  her  heart;  not  even  the  charge  of  disloyalty 
and  the  atrocity  of  assassination.  The  triumph  of  self-re- 
liance in  the  consciousness  of  holy  virtue  and  of  artless  in- 
nocence was  never  more  grandly  carried  out  than  in  Imo- 
gen's steadfastness  of  purpose  to  go  on  and  meet  her  hus- 
band after  she  has  read  his  treacherous  letter  to  their  servant 
Pisanio,  enjoining  him  to  put  her  to  death.  It  may  be  said, 
indeed,  and  for  the  thousandth  time,  that  "No  one  ever  hit 
the  true  perfection  of  the  female  character — the  sense  of 
weakness  leaning  on  the  strength  of  its  affections  for  support, 
so  well  as  Shakespeare:  no  one  ever  so  well  painted  nat- 
ural tenderness  free  from  affectation  and  disguise :  no  one 
else  ever  so  well  showed  how  delicacy  and  timidity,  when 
driven  to  extremity,  grow  romantic  and  extravagant;"  and 
there  are  few  who  cannot  identify  this  testimony  to  their 
character, — not,  of  course,  to  the  letter,  but  in  the  full  spirit 
of  Imogen's  conduct.  The  homily  of  dear  old  Chaucer, 
when  dismissing  his  narrative  of  the  world-noted  Griselda, 
may  well  be  applied  to  our  nation's  Imogen  : 

"This  story  is  said,  not  for  that  wives  should 
Follow  Grisild'  as  in  humility, 
For  it  were  importable  though  they  would ; 
But  for  that  every  wight  in   his  degree 
Shoulde  be  constant  in  adversity 
As  was  Grisilda ;  therefore  Petrarc  writeth 
This  story,  which  with  high  style  he  inditeth." 

Before  proceeding  to  the  inferior  agents  in  this  drama,  I 
would  say  a  few  words  upon  the  character  of  Posthumus. 

That  he  was  unworthy  of  the  love  of  such  a  being  as  Imo- 
gen need  only  be  stated.  We  need  only  be  reminded  that 
when  lachimo  assays  her  constancy  with  the  account  of  her 
husband's  infidelities,  she  gives  utterance  to  no  stronger  re- 


INTRODUCTION. 


25 


ply  than  the  celebrated  one,  "  My  lord,  I  fear,  has  forgot 
Britain" — not  "forgotten  me;"  not  "forgotten  his  wife:"  Imo- 
gen is  too  high-souled  a  lover  and  woman  to  utter  a  selfish 
reproach.  Yet,  when  Posthumus  receives  the  scandal  of  her 
disloyalty,  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  proofs  pro- 
duced, and  sworn  to,  by  lachimo  were  enough  to  stun  even 
a  devout  lover.  Real  charity  (or  love),  it  is  true,  "  endureth 
all  things,  hopeth  all  things,"  and  Posthumus  should  still  have 
proved  for  himself:  but  what  I  mainly  feel  to  be  an  incon- 
sistency in  his  character  is  that  he  is  not  reconcilable  with 
himself — a  perilous  charge  to  venture  against  even  the  hum- 
blest of  Shakespeare's  creations,  and  which  I  would  gladly 
fail  to  substantiate :  nevertheless,  in  the  first  scene  of  the 
play,  a  friend  describes  him  as 

"a  creature  such 

As  to  seek  through  the  regions  of  the  earth 
For  one  his  like,  there  would  be  something  failing 
In  him  that  should  compare  :  I  do  not  think 
So  fair  an  outward,  and  such  stuff  within, 
Endows  a  man  but  he." 

"You  speak  him  far"  (says  the  Second  Gentleman). 

"I  do  extend  him,  sir,  within  himself; 
Crush  him  together,  rather  than  unfold 
His  measure  duly." 

This  fair  report  he  certainly  justifies  in  his  leave-taking 
with  Imogen;  and  subsequently  maintains  it  in  the  wager 
with  lachimo  for  the  inviolability  of  her  honour  and  truth. 
In  short,  he  gives  every  proof  of  being  noble  and  magnani- 
mous to  the  core.  Is  it  then  reconcilable  with  rational  prob- 
ability that  a  man  so  endowed  should  so  damn  himself  as, 
with  the  same  ink,  and  the  self-same  pen,  to  write  a  treacher- 
ous letter  to  the  woman  he  had  adored,  appointing  her  to 
meet  him,  and  another  to  their  servant,  suborning  him  to  be 
her  murderer?  His  first  resolution,  upon  encountering  lachi- 
mo's  proofs,  that  in  the  torment  of  his  passion  he  would  re- 
turn to  her  father's  court  and  "  tear  her  limb-meal,"  is  not 


26  CYMBELINE. 

irreconcilable  with  a  generous,  although  an  ungovernable 
temper;  but  coolly,  and  deliberately,  and  upon  reflection  to 
turn  assassin  by  deputy!  Can  such  a  contradiction  exist  in 
a  man  so  described  as  Posthumus  has  been  described  to  us? 
The  man  who  could  reflectively  compass  the  life  of  her  whom 
he  had  adored  beyond  all  the  beings  on  earth  was  not  the 
character  to  dismiss  her  slanderer,  and  the  author  of  all  their 
misery,  with  so  godlike  a  punishment  as  this: 

*'  The  power  that  I  have  on  you  is  to  spare  you ; 
The  malice  towards  you  to  forgive  you :  live, 
And  deal  with  others  better." 

The  divine  spirit  of  this  conclusion  (as  Mr.  Charles  Knight 
says)  "is  perfect  Shakespeare."  It  is  so;  but  I  cannot  feel 
it  to  be  perfect  Posthumus. 

In  the  original  story  of  Boccaccio,  from  whence  the  play 
was  taken,  the  punishment  of  the  slanderer  better  accords 
with  the  revengeful  nature  of  Posthumus  ;  and,  indeed,  with 
the  frightful  spirit  of  retribution  that  crowns  the  otherwise 
perfect — the  divine — tales  of  the  great  Florentine.  "  He  was 
fastened  naked  to  a  stake,  smeared  with  honey,  and  left  to 
be  devoured  by  flies  and  locusts:'7  a  revenge  in  character; 
for  the  Italians  have  a  proverb,  actually  inculcating  the  vice 
of  revenge  as  a  virtue:  it  is,  "  He  who  cannot  revenge  him- 
self is  weak;  he  who  will  not  is  despicable."  Imogen  (thank 
Heaven!)  was  one  of  our  own  women.  And  yet,  with  all  the 
objection  here  suggested  against  his  character-structure,  I 
am  in  candour  bound  (and  I  rejoice  in  my  duty)  to  testify 
that  Posthumus,  in  the  clearing  of  his  wife's  innocence,  does 
prostrate  his  soul  in  the  very  mire  of  self-reproach  and  de- 
spair. His  rejoinder  to  the  confession  of  lachimo's  treach- 
ery is  enormous  in  its  remorse ;  and, — I  must  acknowledge, — 
atoning  and  complete;  as,  in  its  spirit,  it  harmonizes  with  the 
impulsiveness  of  his  nature.  But, — good  Heaven  ! — how  per- 
fectly divine  is  the  scene  of  their  reunion  !  She,  with  her  char- 


INTRODUCTION. 


27 


acteristic  strength  of  passion  and  gentleness,  says — almost 
playfully : 

"  Why  did  you  throw  your  wedded  lady  from  you  ? 
Think  that  you  are  upon  a  rock ;  and  now 
Throw  me  again."     [Embracing  him.] 

His  heart  is  too  full :  he  can  make  no  more  reply  than  : 

"  Hang  there  like  fruit,  my  soul, 
Till  the  tree  die." 

The  noted  soliloquy  of  Posthumus,  after  he  has  received 
from  lachimo  the  proofs  of  Imogen's  infidelity, — a  speech 
that  has  been  objected  to,  on  account  of  its  unrestricted  tone 
of  expression  and  want  of  harmony  with  the  quality  of  that 
conjugal  love  which  had  existed  between  them, — appears  to 
me,  on  the  contrary,  to  be  accurately  consistent  with  his  im- 
petuous and  engrossing  nature.  It  is  the  strongest  foil  the 
poet  could  have  placed  against  the  exquisite  delicacy 
forbearance  of  Imogen,  whose  sharpest  speeches  are:  "Some 
painted  jay  of  Italy  has  betray'd  him;"  and  her  heaviest  re- 
proach in  her  affliction : 

"  My  dear  lord  ! 

Thou  art  one  of  the  false  ones  :  now  I  think  on  thee, 
My  hunger's  gone ;  but  even  before,  I  was 
At  point  to  sink  for  food." 

And  but  once  is  she  betrayed  into  an  expression  of  anger: 
"That  drug-damn'd  Italy  hath  out-crafted  him."  She,  the 
most  injured  party,  is  the  most  forbearing — the  common  re- 
sult in  society — and,  in  short,  never  was  case  more  trium- 
phantly carried  out  between  what  has  been  wittily  styled  the 
"  fair,  and  the  /^-fair  sex." 

The  prevailing  feature  in  the  play  of  Cymbeline  is  that,  un- 
der different  phases,  it  exhibits  an  enchanting  portraiture  of 
the  a  Affections  "  in  their  several  varieties.  In  the  two  prime 
agents  of  the  drama  (Imogen  and  Posthumus),  we  are  pre- 
sented with  the  passion  in  its  grandest  feature  :  in  the  broth- 


2  8  CYMBELINE. 

/ers,  Guiderius  and  Arviragus,  we  have  the  mysterious  instinct 
/ of  the  fraternal  affection;  in  the  stupid  addresses  of  the 
booby  prince,  Cloten,  a  contrast  of  the  animal  affection,  un- 
elevated  by  a  spark  of  the  celestial  fire,  is  set  forth ;  and 
lastly,  the  affection  of  menial  attachment,  in  its  most  dis- 
interested form,  is  exhibited  in  the  beautiful  character  of 
Pisanio,  the  servant  to  Posthumus,  who  is  one  of  Shake- 
speare's favorite  class  of  attendant  gentlemen — like  Horatio 
and  Benvolio;  of  level  understanding,  unostentatiously  faith- 
ful and  actively  devoted.  The  character  of  Pisanio  is  a 
charming  one.  And  here,  while  upon  the  subject  of  "Affec- 
tion,"— rather,  perhaps,  say  of  "  Friendship,"  which  is  only  a 
modified  emotion  of  the  same  subject  (Friendship  is  Love 
without  his  wings),  we  may  observe  the  different  sentiment 
of  Shakespeare  as  regards  menial  attachment,  and  that  of 
Sir  Walter  Scott,  who  has  so  often  been  compared  with  him. 
Shakespeare,  who  in  his  love  for  his  species  seems  to  have 
been  a  cosmophilanthropist,  took  an  evident  pleasure  in 
uniting  the  several  grades  of  society  in  the  bonds  of  mutual 
respect  and  unselfish  attachment.  Instances  of  this  might 
be  quoted  from  his  plays  to  a  considerable  extent.  As  he 
has  finely  said,  "  One  touch  of  Nature  makes  the  whole  world 
kin"  He  has  therefore  constantly  identified  both  master 
and  man  in  one  common  interest ;  and  in  but  one  instance 
that  I  can  recall  has  he  personated  the  mere  dogged,  un- 
compromising, mechanically  obedient  serf,  or  slave,  namely, 
in  the  steward  to  Queen  Goneril ;  and  an  admirable  con- 
junction of  dominion  and  servitude  that  was.  The  very  ap- 
pointment of  such  a  menial  to  such  a  mistress  was,  in  itself, 
a  touch  of  art.  If  we  retrace  the  stories  of  Sir  Walter  Scott, 
we,  I  think,  uniformly  perceive  that  his  idea  of  the  connec- 
tion between  master  and  servant  is  s\x\c\]y  feudal.  Through- 
out his  writings  we  scarcely  meet  with  any  other  idea  of  their 
reciprocal  duties  than  that  of  irresponsible  sway  and  com- 
mand on  the  one  hand,  with  mechanical  and  implicit  obedi- 


INTRODUCTION.  29 

ence  on  the  other,  and  not  a  spark  of  free  and  intrinsic 
attachment  existing  between  them.  He  was  a  kind-hearted 
man,  was  Scott,  but  he  was  a  thorough  aristocrat  by  birth, 
education,  and  habit;  and  this  circumstance  cramped  his 
prodigious  brain, — like  a  Chinese  foot ;  for  he  had  some- 
what to  seek  in  the  fields  of  social  philosophy. 

Contrasted  with  the  master-feeling  of  the  "  \gf^tW>g"  in 
this  play,  we  are  presented  with  the  shocking  treachery  of 
the  Queen-mother — a  character  so  odious,  and  even  outra- 
geous, as  to  amount  almost  to  a  monstrous  anomaly.  To 
my  apprehension,  there  does  not  appear  sufficient  ground — 
in  the  light  even  of  self-indulgence  —  for  such  wholesale, 
gratuitous  wickedness ;  except,  indeed,  that  there  is  a  princi- 
ple of  evil  in  the  great  economy  of  Nature,  and  that  some 
dispositions  draw  their  sustenance  from,  and  batten  upon, 
stratagem  and  murder.  In  the  case,  however,  of  Cymbe- 
line's  Queen,  Shakespeare  has,  with  his  own  gentle  wisdom, 
put  a  characteristic  rebuke  to  her  cruelty  in  the  mouth  of 
her  physician,  Cornelius,  whom  she  has  directed  to  concoct 
some  poison  for  her.  In  answer  to  his  inquiry  as  to  her 
purport  in  requiring  such  dangerous  compounds,  she  says 
she  intends  trying  their  effects  on  "such  creatures  as  we  count 
not  worth  the  hanging."  "Your  Highmsss  &kall  from__this. 
practice  but  make  hardyonr  hgarr,,"  is  his  gentle  remon- 
strance. This  is  a  little  effusion  of  humanity  in  relief  to  the 
savage  craft  of  the  murderess.  But  the  whole  detail  of  this 
woman  (although  below  even  a  second-rate  character)  is  per- 
fectly consistent.  . 

Cymbeline.  the  Kinp;T  is  an  ordinary  specimen  of  h^man-wui^ 
ity,  invested  with  irresponsible  pnwpr,— weak,  wilful,  an^  vjn- 
lent;  not,  however,  unimpressible  to  the  emotion  of  a  gener- 
ous sentiment;  for,  in  the  conclusion,  he  makes  a  handsome 
and  natural  atonement  for  his  previous  folly  and  misrule. 
The  constitutional  imbecility  of  the  man  is  well  manifested 
injiisrequiring  the  counsel  of  his  stupid  step-son,  Cloten,  at 


3o  CYMBELINE. 

the  conference  with  the  ambassador  from  Rome;  and,  with 
his  usual  tact,  Shakespeare  has  made  the  blurting  ass  most 
forward  in  the  debate.  With  the  true  lout-intellect,  he  tells 
the  ambassador  that  they  "will  not  pay  tribute  to  Rome  for 
wearing  their  own  noses."  And  he  closes  the  audience  with 
this  elegant  peroration:  "His  Majesty  bids  you  welcome. 
Make  pastime  with  us  a  day  or  two  longer ;  if  you  seek  us 
afterwards  in  other  terms,  you  shall  find  us  in  our  salt-water 
girdle  :  if  you  beat  us  out  of  it,  it  is  yours  ;  if  you  fail  in  the 
adventure,  our  crows  shall  fare  the  better  for  you  ; — and 
there  's  an  end."  This  speech  accurately  tallies  with  the  de- 
scription of  the  man  afterwards  given  by  old  Belarius;  who, 
rin  his  hiding-place  in  the  mountains,  recognizes  him  after 
years  of  absence.  He  says  :  "  By  the  snatches  in  his  voice, 
and  burst  of  speaking,  it  is  absolute  Cloten."  No  one  like 
Shakespeare  to  give  the  whole  of  a  man's  manner  in  one 
line.  Again,  in  the  opening  of  the  2d  act,  a  speaking 
picture  of  him  is  presented  to  us,  where  he  is  fuming  and 
fretting,  ruffling  and  vapouring  with  two  courtier  lords,  after 
a  game  at  bowls ;  in  which  his  temper  appears  to  be  as  bad 
as  his  play  had  been.  In  the  scene  with  Pisanio  (the  5th 
of  the  3d  act)  we  have  yet  again  full  insight  into  the  base 
soul  of  the  man ; — and  all  by  concise  yet  plenary  touches, 
apparently  casual  and  inadvertent,  but  carefully  and  close- 
ly calculated.  He  has  detected  the  letter  from  Posthumus 
to  Pisanio,  and  taken  it  from  him ;  he  there  finds  instruction 
that  Imogen  shall  meet  her  husband  at  Milford-Haven. 
Having  then  ordered  the  servant  to  fetch  him  a  suit  of  his 
master's  garments,  he  falls  into  soliloquy,  pondering  his  ruf- 
fianly intention  against  Imogen.  "  To  the  court  I  '11  knock 
her  back,  foot  her  home  again.  She  hath  despised  me  re- 
joicingly,— and  I  '11  be  merry  in  my  revenge."  It  will  be  re- 
membered that  she  had  rejected  with  ladylike  dignity  his 
swinish  suit  to  her: 


INTRODUCTION.  31 

"  I  am  much  sorry,  sir, 
You  put  me  to  forget  a  lady's  manners, 
By  being  so  verbal :  and  learn  now,  for  all, 
That  I,  which  know  my  heart,  do  here  pronounce, 
By  the  very  truth  of  it,  I  care  not  for  you, 
And  am  so  near  the  lack  of  chanty, 
(To  accuse  myself)  I  hate  you ;  which  I  had  rather 
You  felt,  than  make  't  my  boast." 

In  alluding  to  him  in  an  after-part  of  the  play,  she  says : 

"That  Cloten,  whose  love-suit  hath  been  to  me 
As  fearful  as  a  siege." 

Lastly,  his  reputed  animal  courage  is  sagaciously  accounted 
for  by  Belarius,  who  imputes  it  to  defective  judgment.     And 
this  is  the  solution  of  much  of  the  headlong  bravery  that  we 
hear  of  in  the  world,  which,  at  times,  is  referable  to  phlegm 
and  obtuseness  of  constitution.     Cloten  is  a  masterly  varied! 
specimen  in  Shakespeare's  class  of  half-witted  characters  :J 
he  is  of  the  race,  yet  distinct  and  original  in  feature  and 
bearing.     One  of  the  lords  of  the  court  says  of  him  : 

"  That  such  a  crafty  devil  as  his  mother 
Should  yield  the  world  this  ass  \   a  woman  that 
Bears  all  down  with  her  brain  ;  and  this,  her  son, 
Cannot  take  two  from  twenty,  for  his  heart, 
And  leave  eighteen." 

This  play  of  Cymbeline*  inwoven  as  it  is  with  the  loftiest 
sentiment,  with  superb  imagery,  and  with  the  most  condensed 
truths  and  worldly  axioms,  contains  yet  no  scene  more  fruit- 
ful in  matter  for  sedate  meditation  than  the  one  between 
Posthumus  and  his  gaoler.  Some  commentator  has  re- 
marked that  Voltaire  himself  has  nothing  comparable  to  the 
humorous  discussion  of  the  philosophic  gaoler  in  Cymbeline  : 
probably  so;  but  beneath  that  humour  there  are  speculations 
calculated  to  give  one  pause,  and  to  set  one  chewing  the  cud 
of  serious  thoughts.  Under  these  quaint  and  rough  exteri- 
ors, Shakespeare  loved  to  read  his  brethren  a  lesson  upon 
the  subject  most  deeply  interesting  their  future-world  inter- 


32  CYMBELINE. 

ests;  as  Rabelais  beautifully  compared  his  own  broad  and 
coarse  humour — investing  worldly  knowledge  and  wisdom — 
to  the  old-fashioned  jars  and  bottles  of  the  apothecaries,  on 
the  exteriors  of  which  they  used  to  paint  grotesque  figures  and 
uncouth  heads,  yet  within  they  contained  precious  unguents 
and  healing  balsams.  The  scene  alluded  to  (v.  4.  150-201) 
is  short,  and  not  introduced  on  the  stage — which  it  should  be. 
The  scenes  in  which  old  Belarius  and  the  young  princes, 
Guiderius  and  Arviragus,  his  adopted  sons,  and  stolen  by 
him  from  the  king,  are  engaged,  form  the  sunshine  of  the 
play ;  and  their  characters  and  mountain-life  afford  a  bright 
relief  to  the  court  -  treacheries,  stormy  passions,  and  heart- 
sickness  of  the  other  portio'nT  It  is  palpable  that,  whenever 
our  poet  places  his  persons  under  the  open  canopy  of  heav- 
en, and  in  the  unchartered  wilds  of  rural  nature,  whether 
amid  the  solemn  aisles  and  shadows  brown  of  monumental 
oak,  or  on  the  crags  and  heathy  slopes  of  the  mountains  old 
and  bare,  their  language  always  takes  a  tone  consonant  with 
their  free  and  primeval  domain  : — as  witness  all  the  scenes  in 
the  forest  of  Arden,  in  As  You  Like  It — and  so  again,  in  this 
Cymbeline:  —  these  wild  huntsmen  talk  the  finest  and  the 
most  vivid  poetry  of  them  all ;  and  how  different  is  its  char- 
acter and  pitch  from  those  of  the  placid,  ruminating  shep- 
herds who  compose  the  still-life,  as  these  mountaineers  do 
romantic  and  adventurous  life,  of  rudest  nature.  What 
vigour  is  breathed  into  their  every  action !  and  how  finely  are 
discriminated  the  energy,  yet  cautious  circumspection  of  the 
old  man,  and  the  impetuosity  and  recklessness  of  the  young 
and  inexperienced  ones: — what  freshness,  and  what  fancy 
too, — to  say  nothing  of  the  homely  wisdom, — in  the  sweet 
uses  of  their  mountain  life ! 

"  You,  Polydore,  have  prov'd  best  woodman,  and 
Are  master  of  the  feast :   Cadwal  and  I 
Will  play  the  cook  and  servant ;   't  is  our  match. 
The  sweat  of  industry  would  dry  and  die, 


INTRODUCTION.  33 

But  for  the  end  it  works  to.     Come,  our  stomachs 
Will  make  what  's  homely,  savoury ;  weariness 
Can  snore  upon  the  flint,  when  resty  sloth 
Finds  the  down  pillow  hard." 

What  a  superb  illustration  of  the  delight  of  an  active  em- 
ployment !  But  this  division  of  the  play  absolutely  glitters 
with  these  drops  of  heavenly  wisdom,  like  morning-dew  upon 
the  scented  hawthorn.  Again,  what  lustre  and  grandeur  in 
Belarius's  description  of  the  dispositions  in  the  two  youths : 

"O  thou  goddess, 

Thou  divine  Nature,  how  thyself  thou  blazon'st 
In  these  two  princely  boys  !    They  are  as  gentle 
As  zephyrs,  blowing  below  the  violet, 
Not  wagging  his  sweet  head ;   and  yet  as  rough, 
Their  royal  blood  enchaf'd,  as  the  rud'st  wind, 
That  by  the  top  doth  take  the  mountain  pine, 
And  make  him  stoop  to  the  vale." 

Yet  again,  we  note  the  plausible  advantage  taken  by  the 
poet  to  signalize  the  old  prejudice  <J&^tinct  of  birt^ to  dis- 
tinguish the  roval  blood  flowing  in  the^veins  of  the  twoprfnce-' 
ly  youths.  I  do  but  refer  to  the  advantage  taken  6t  the  pop- 
ular  prejudice,  and  have  no  argument  for  its  physiological 
accuracy.  Nevertheless,  there  is  undeniable  truth  in  the 
axioms  put  into  the  mouth  of  old  Belarius ;  for  instance: 

"  Cowards  father  cowards,  and  base  things  sire  base : 
Nature  hath  meal  and  bran,  contempt  and  grace." 

Again,  referring  to  the  youths,  he  says  : 

"  How  hard  it  is  to  hide  the  sparks  of  nature ! 
These  boys  know  little  they  are  the  sons  of  the  king, 
Nor  Cymbeline  dreams  that  they  are  alive. 
They  think  they  are  mine ;  and  though  trained  up  thus  meanly 
I'  the  cave  wherein  they  bow,  thpjr  tho.ngMg  ^n  hi*" 
The  roofs  of  palaces ;  and  nature  prompts  them 
Beyond  the  trick  ot  otuers.     This  Polydore, — 
The  helP  Of  CyillliLliiie  and  Britain,  whom 
The  King  his  father  call'd  Guiderius, — Jove ! 
When  on  my  three-foot  stool  I  sit,  and  tell 

c 


34  CYMBELINE. 

The  warlike  feats  I  have  done,  his  spirits  fly  out 
Into  my  story, — say,  '  thus  mine  enemy  fell, 
And  thus  I  set  my  foot  on  's  neck  ;'  even  then 
vThe  princely  blood  flows  in  's  cheek,  he  sweats, 
Strains  his  youn^  nerves,  and  puts  himself  in  posture 
That  acts  my  words.     The  younger  brother,  Cadwal, 
(Once  Arviragus)  in  as  like  a  figure, 
Strikes  life  into  my  speech,  and  shows  much  more 
His  own  conceiving.1' 

And  so,  in  the  full  spirit  of  this  principle,  th^Lpflftfj  with 
acteristic  boldness,  has  followed  out  the  conduct  of  the^yojjng 
prince  Guiderius  in  his  contest  with  the  booby-bully,  Cloten, 
in  which  unconscious  self-estimation  and  brutal  assumption 
are  felicitously  associated  and  as  dramatically  contrasted. 
The  vulgarity  of  low  life  is  sufficiently  offensive ;  but  there 
is  no  vulgarity  so  repugnant  as  the  vulgarity  of  high  life, 
because  it  commonly  arises  from  an  obtuse  defiance  of  all 
that  the  wisest  and  most  graceful  of  mankind  have  deemed 
essential  to  social  interests  and  good  order.  This  scene 
(the  2d  of  the  4th  act)  is  almost  the  only  light  one  in  the 
play.  Cloten  has  followed  Imogen  in  her  flight  towards  Mil- 
ford-Haven,  and  stumbled  upon  the  young  mountaineer,  Gui- 
derius, whom  he  orders  to  yield,  and  they  go  out  fighting. 
The  prince  afterwards  returns  with  the  boaster's  head,  say- 
ing: 

("This  Cloten  was  a  fool,  an  empty  purse; 
There  was  no  money  in  't :  not  Hercules 
Could  have  knocked  out  his  brains,  for  he  had  none." 

That  same  instinct  of  nature  Shakespeare  has  followed  on, 
in  the  prompt  and  unconscious  affection  that  the  two  youths 
discover  for  their  disguised  sister,  claiming  their  hospitality 
on  her  pilgrimage.     One  of  them  calls  her  "  Brother." 
"  Brother,  jfoy  here  ;  are  we  not  brothers  ?" 

She  replies : 

"  So  man  and  man  should  be ; 
But  clay  and  clay  differs  in  dignity, 
Whose  dust  is  both  alike." 


INTRODUCTION.  35 

Like  Perdita,  in  the  Winter's  Tale,  consciously  and  uncon- 
sciously the  regal  instinct  manifests  itself.  The  young  moun- 
taineers are  neither  more  nor  less  than  kind-hearted,  but  ple- 
beian, foresters  in  her  then  estimation.  Again,  reiterating 
the  "  instinct  "  question,  Guiderius  says  to  his  sister-brother  : 

"  I  love  thee,  I  have  spoke  it,   *    *    * 

****** 

As  I  do  loye  my  father." 

Belarius  exclaims  : 

"  What?  how  !  how! 

Arviragus.  If  it  be  sin  to  say  so,  sir,  I  yoke  me 
In  my  good  brother's  fault.     I  know  not  why 
I  love  this  youth ;  and  I  have  heard  you  say, 
Love's  reason  's  without  reason.     The  bier  at  door, 
And  a  demand  who  is  't  shall  die,  I  'd  say, 
My  father,  not  this  youth," 

And  then,  how  like  our  Shakespeare,  to  put  the  following 
impelled  justification  of  the  ill-appreciated  plebeians  in  the 
mouth  of  the  grateful  and  womanly  Imogen : 


I." 


These  are  kind  creatures.     Gods,  what  lies  I  have  heard  ! 
Our  courtiers  say,  all 's  savage  but  at  court." 


Lastly,  upon  the  principle  of  "  Breeding,"  and  of  the  myste- 
rious influence  of  consanguinity,  may  be  noted  the  allusion 
made  toTthe  "  mole,  cinque-spotted  "  upon  Imogen^  heck, 
by  which  lachimo  traduced  her  to  her  husband.  At  the  con- 
clusion of  the  play,  when  the  two  youths  are  discovered  to 
be  her  brothers,  it  is  said  that  Guiderius  may  be  identified 
as  a  son  of  Cymbeline,  and  consequently  as  her  brother,  by 
his  having  "upon  his  neck  ajnole7  a  sanguine  star."  This 
touch  of  a  personal  triviality  being  brought  to  indicate  a  re- 
lationship, may,  at  first  sight,  appear  insignificant  to  allude 
to ;  but  it  proves  the  close  attention  of  the  poet,  and  the_rjre- 
vailing  sense  of  "  harmony  "  in  his  mind,  as  a  means  he  ad- 
hered to  for  perfecting  a  theory  or  a  principle. 

A  considerable  portion,  indeed,  of  the  play  is  a  practical 


36  CYMBELINE. 

argument  to  enforce  the  dignity  as  well  as  the  ^/worthiness 
/  of  "  breeding  "  in  the  physical  man  ;  at  the  same  time,  the 
secret  and  hidden  force  of  "instinct."  I  scarcely  know  of 
any  arrangement  more  appealing  to  the  gentler  emotions  of 
our  nature  than  in  this  portion  of  the  play ;  so  triumphant- 
lyjias  be^n  a^firfrpH_thfi  pphilify  nf  tqifi  ^r^Y^r^T^JriHrix^- 

Iyronnprfprl_wjrh  gf  ntlpm^s  j?f  hparf  -  and,  assuredly,  the 
highest  order  of  courage  is  never  unattended  by  the  proffer- 
ings  of  benevolence.  Thus  we  have  the  daily  practice  in 
the  two  youths  of  paying  honour  to  the  grave  of  Euriphile, 
the  wife  of  Belarius,  and  their  supposed  mother.  Their 
primitive  and  rational  piety  when  entering  upon  their  morn- 
ing labours, — "  Hail,  Heaven  !"  No -ow^-bet^jLtJian  Shake- 
speare knew 'how  to  combine  ^uje^pj£ty_with  braveryj)or, 
in  other  words,  what  constitutes  the  most ^eXalttid  liiagna- 
nimity.  And,  lastly,  their  affecting  and  child -like  sorrow 
when  they  are  performing  the  funeral  rites  of  Fidele — sup- 
posed to  be  dead. 

Guiderius.  "  Why  he  but  sleeps. 

If  he  be  gone,  he  '11  make  his  grave  a  bed ; 
With  female  fairies  will  his  tomb  be  haunted, 
And  worms  will  not  come  to  thee. 

Awiragus.  W7ith  fairest  flowers, 

Whilst  summer  lasts,  and  I  live  here,  Fidele, 
I  '11  sweeten  thy  sad  grave.     Thou  shalt  not  lack 
The  flower  that's  like  thy  face,  pale  primrose;  nor 
The  azure  hare-bell,  like  thy  veins ;  no,  nor 
The  leaf  of  eglantine,  whom  not  to  slander, 
Out-sweeten'd  not  thy  breath.     The  ruddock  would 
With  charitable  bill — O  bill,  sore  shaming 
Those  rich-left  heirs  that  let  their  fathers  lie 
Without  a  monument ! — bring  thee  all  this  ; 
Yea,  and  furr'd  moss  besides,  when  flowers  are  none, 
To  winter-ground  thy  corse.     Say,  where  shall 's  lay  him  ? 

Guiderins.  By  good  Euriphile,  our  mother. 

Arviragus.  Be  it  so  ; 

And  let  us,  Polydore,  though  now  our  voices 
Have  got  the  mannish  crack,  sing  him  to  the  ground, 


INTRODUCTION.  37 

As  once  our  mother ;  use  like  note  and  words, 
Save  that  Euriphile  must  be  Fidele." 

Then  follows  an  exquisite  touch  of  natural  pathos ;  Guide- 

rius  in  answer  says  : 

"  Cadwal, 

I  cannot  sing:  I  '11  weep,  and  word  it  with  thee  ; 
For  notes  of  sorrow  out  of  tune  are  wbrse 
Than  priests  and  fanes  that  lie." 

And  to  this  succeeds  one  of  those  observances  in  the  prim- 
itive church  which  the  poet  (true  to  his  own  nature)  chose 
to  honour ;  having  already  put  the  axiom  into  the  mouth  of 
Imogen,  "  The  breach  of  custom  is  the  breach  of  all ;"  and 
so  here  :  one  of  the  brothers,  when  they  are  proceeding  to 
lay  the  body  in  the  earth,  objects  : 

"  Nay,  Cadwal,  we  must  lay  his  head  to  the  east ; 
Our  father  hath  a  reason  for  't." 

Having  once  given  us  a  clue  to  the  prevailing  quality  in 
their  dispositions  ("  gentle  as  zephyrs  blowing  below  the  vio- 
let") the  poet  never  loses  the  thread.  They  are  punctually 
observant — even  in  the  absence  of  their  father — of  his  mi- 
nutest wish  and  injunction.  Is  not  this  absolute  consistency 
in  character  delineation  ?  Never  were  obsequies  perform'd 
with  more  graceful  pathos  than  those  at  the  funeral  of  the 
"fair  Fidele;"  and,  surely,  never  was  parting  hymn  more 
aptly  appropriated  to  its  subject  and  primitive  occasion.  No 
rural  poet  of  the  old  world  could  have  surpassed  it  in  simple, 
natural  dignity  and  tender  regret.  There  is  music  in  the 
words,  and  the  music  of  the  heart  breathes  like  wafted  odours 
through  the  entire  composition.  And  the  closing  farewell, 
in  undiminished  beauty  of  sentiment,  closes  the  scene : 

"  Here  's  a  few  flowers ;  but  'bout  midnight  more. 
The  herbs  that  have  on  them  cold  dew  o'  the  night, 
Are  strewings  fitt'st  for  graves.     Upon  their  faces. 
You  were  as  flowers,  now  wither'd ;  even  so 
These  herbs  shall,  which  we  upon  you  strew. — 


38  CYMBELINE. 

The  ground  that  gave  them  first  has  them  again; 
Their  pleasures  here  are  past,  so  is  their  pain." 

I  know  of  no  composition  to  surpass  in  exquisite  taste 
and  tenderness  the  ceremony  and  the  obsequies  performed 
at  the  funeral  of  the  divine  little  pilgrim  to  Milford-Haven. 
Let  it  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  predominance  of  rich  ex- 
tracts quoted  in  these  essays  are  lavished  upon  the  second 
and  third  rate  characters  of  our  poet ;  "  The  greatest  is  yet 
behind."  Be  it  repeated  again  and  again  that,  to  come  at 
something  like  an  estimate  of  the  wealth  of  his  mind,  we 
have  but  to  notice  its  prodigality,  as  heaped  upon  the  less 
consequential,  and  even  the  insignificant,  members  of  his 
dramatis  personae. 

No  being  that  ever  lived  studied  less  than  Shakespeare 
the  art  of  reserving  his  strength  for  the  purpose  of  "  making 
points,"  as  the  actors  term  it.  He  had  no  occasion  to  do 
this,  and  he  must  have  known  it ;  for  his  strength  was  ever 
at  the  flood  ;  and  as  the  event  arose,  so  he  grappled  with 
and  overcame  it ;  like  a  mighty  river  that  rolls  on,  resistless, 
now  bearing  all  before  it  —  rocks,  trees,  and  spars  whirled 
aloft  in  its  mountain  foam — or  equally  prevailing  when  it 
meanders  through  some  flowery  dale,  calm  as  its  own  face, 

"And  makes  sweet  music  with  th'  enamell'd  stones, 
Giving  a  gentle  kiss  to  every  sedge 
It  overtaketh  in  its  pilgrimage ; 
And  so,  by  many  winding  nooks  it  strays 
With  willing  sport  to  the  wild  ocean." 

Such  was  the  genius  of  Shakespeare.  In  other  plays  he 
has  doubtless  manifested  sublimer  bursts  of  passion  ;  but  in 
no  one  of  them  has  he  set  forth  the  prevailing  power  of  his 
own  bland  and  sweet  disposition  in  the  omnipotence  of  meek 
forbearance  and  untiring  affection  as  in  the  play  of  Cymbe- 
line. 


CYMBELINE. 


DRAMATIS  PERSONS. 

CYMBELINE,  King  of  Britain. 

CLOTEN,  son  to  the  Queen  by  a  former  husband. 

POSTHUMUS  LEONATUS,  a  gentleman,  husband  to  Imc- 

gen. 
BELARIUS,  a  banished  lord,  disguised  under  the  name  of 

Morgan. 

„  (sons   to    Cymbeline,   disguised   under   the 

YU1E      IUS'  \     names  of  Polyclore  and  Cadwal,  supposed 
ARVIRAGUS,  (     sons  to  Morgan. 

PHILARIO,  friend  to  Posthumus,  I  T,  r 

IACHIMO,  friend  to  Philario,         J  Italians. 

CAIUS  Lucius,  general  of  the  Roman  forces. 

PISANIO,  servant  to  Posthumus. 

CORNELIUS,  a  physician. 

A  Roman  Captain. 

Two  British  Captains. 

A  Frenchman,  friend  to  Philario. 

Two  Lords  of  Cymbeline's  court. 

Two  Gentlemen  of  the  same. 

Two  Gaolers. 


Queen,  wife  to  Cymbeline. 

IMOGEN,  daughter  to  Cymb 

HELEN,  a  lady  attending  on  Imogen. 


IMOGEN,  daughter  to  Cymbeline  by  a  former  queen. 
dy 


Lords,  Ladies,  Roman  Senators.  Tribunes,  a  Soothsayer, 
a  Dutchman,  a  Spaniard,  Musicians,  Officers,  Captains, 
Soldiers,  Messengers,  and  other  Attendants. 

Apparitions. 
SCENE  :   Britain  ;  Rome. 


ACT   I. 

SCENE  I.     Britain.     The  Garden  of  Cymbeline^s  Palace. 
Enter  two  Gentlemen. 

1  Gentleman.  You  do  not   meet  a  man   but  frowns  ;  our 

bloods 

No  more  obey  the  heavens  than  our  courtiers 
Still  seem  as  does  the  king. 

2  Gentleman.  But  what  's  the  matter  ? 

i  Gentleman.   His  daughter,  and  the  heir  of  's  kingdom, 

whom 

He  purposed  to  his  wife's  sole  son — a  widow 
That  late  he  married — hath  referr'd  herself 


\ 


42  CYMBELINE. 

Unto  a  poor  but  worthy  gentleman.     She  's  wedded, 
Her  husband  banish'd,  she  imprison'd  ;  all 
Is  outward  sorrow,  though  I  think  the  king 
Be  touch'd  at  very  heart. 

2  Gentleman.  None  but  the  king  ?  m 

1  Gentleman.  He  that  hath  lost  her  too ;  so  is  the  queen, 
That  most  desir'd  the  match ;  but  not  a  courtier, 
Although  they  wear  their  faces  to  the  bent 

Of  the  king's  looks,  hath  a  heart  that  is  not 
Glad  at  the  thing  they  scowl  at. 

2  Gentleman.  And  why  so? 

1  Gentleman.  He  that  hath  miss'd  the  princess  is  a  thing 
Too  bad  for  bad  report ;  and  he  that  hath  her — 

I  mean,  that  married  her,  alack,  good  man  ! 

And  therefore  banish'd — is  a  creature  such 

As,  to  seek  through  the  regions  of  the  earth  20 

For  one  his  like,  there  would  be  something  failing 

In  him  that  should  compare.     I  do  not  think 

So  fair  an  outward  and  such  stuff  within 

Endows  a  man  but  he. 

2  Gentleman.  You  speak  him  far. 

1  Gentleman.  I  do  extend  him,  sir,  within  himself, 
Crush  him  together  rather  than  unfold 

His  measure  duly. 

2  Gentleman.          What  's  his  name  and  birth  ? 

i  Gentleman.  I  cannot  delve  him  to  the  root.     His  father 
Was  call'd  Sicilius,  who  did  join  his  honour 
Against  the  Romans  with  Cassibelan,  30 

But  had  his  titles  by  Tenantius,  whom 
He  serv'd  with  glory  and  admir'd  success, 
So  gain'd  the  sur-addition  Leonatus ; 
And  had,  besides  this  gentleman  in  question, 
Two  other  sons,  who  in  the  wars  o'  the  time 
Died  with  their  swords  in  hand ;  for  which  their  father, 
Then  old  and  fond  of  issue,  took  such  sorrow 


ACT  L     SCENE  L  4.3 

That  he  quit  being,  and  his  gentle  lady, 

Big  of  this  gentleman  our  theme,  deceas'd 

As  he  was  born.     The  king  he  takes  the  babe  40 

To  his  protection,  calls  him  Posthumus  Leonatus, 

Breeds  him  and  makes  him  of  his  bed-chamber, 

Puts  to  him  all  the  learnings  that  his  time 

Could  make  him  the  receiver  of;  which  he  took, 

As  we  do  air,  fast  as  't  was  minister'd, 

And  in  's  spring  became  a  harvest,  liv'd  in  court — 

Which  rare  it  is  to  do — most  prais'd,  most  lov'd, 

A  sample  to  the  youngest,  to  the  more  mature 

A  glass  that  feated  them,  and  to  the  graver 

A  child  that  guided  dotards ;  to  his  mistress,  50 

For  whom  he  now  is  banish'd,  her  own  price 

Proclaims  how  she  esteem'd  him  and  his  virtue; 

By  her  election  may  be  truly  read 

What  kind  of  man  he  is. 

2  Gentleman.  I  honour  him 

Even  out  of  your  report.     But,  pray  you,  tell  me, 
Is  she  sole  child  to  the  king  ? 

1  Gentleman.  His  only  child. 
He  had  two  sons — if  this  be  worth  your  hearing, 
Mark  it — the  eldest  of  them  at  three  years  old, 

I'  the  swathing-clothes  the  other,  from  their  nursery 

Were  stol'n,  and  to  this  hour  no  guess  in  knowledge  60 

Which  way  they  went. 

2  Gentleman.  How  long  is  this  ago  ? 

1  Gentleman.  Some  twenty  years. 

2  Gentleman.  That  a  king's  children   should  be  so  con- 

vey'd, 

So  slackly  guarded,  and  the  search  so  slow, 
That  could  not  trace  them  ! 

i  Gentleman.  Howsoe'er  't  is  strange, 

Or  that  the  negligence  may  well  be  laugh'd  at, 
Yet  is  it  true,  sir. 


44  CYMBELINE. 

2  Gentleman.        I  do  well  believe  you. 
i  Gentleman.  We  must  forbear;  here   comes  the  gentle- 
man, 
The  queen,  and  princess.  \Exeunt. 

Enter  the  QUEEN,  POSTHUMUS,  and  IMOGEN. 

Queen.  No,  be  assur'd  you  shall  not  find  me,  daughter,    7o 
After  the  slander  of  most  stepmothers, 
Evil-eyed  unto  you ;  you  're  my  prisoner,  but 
Your  gaoler  shall  deliver  you  the  keys 
That  lock  up  your  restraint. — For  you,  Posthumus, 
So  soon  as  I  can  win  the  offended  king, 
I. will  be  known  your  advocate;  marry,  yet 
The  fire  of  rage  is  in  him,  and  't  were  good 
You  lean'd  unto  his  sentence  with  what  patience 
Your  wisdom  may  inform  you. 

Posthumus.  Please  your  highness, 

I  will  from  hence  to-day. 

Queen.  You  know  the  peril.  80 

I  '11  fetch  a  turn  about  the  garden,  pitying 
The  pangs  of  barr'd  affections,  though  the  king 
Hath  charg'd  you  should  not  speak  together.  \Exit. 

Imogen.  O 

Dissembling  courtesy  !      How  fine  this  tyrant 
Can  tickle  where  she  wounds  ! — My  dearest  husband, 
I  something  fear  my  father's  wrath ;  but  nothing — 
Always  reserv'd  my  holy  duty — what 
His  rage  can  do  on  me.     You  must  be  gone ; 
And  I  shall  here  abide  the  hourly  shot 

Of  angry  eyes,  not  comforted  to  live,  90 

But  that  there  is  this  jewel  in  the  world 
That  I  may  see  again. 

Posthumus.  My  queen  !  my  mistress ! 

O  lady,  weep  no  more,  lest  I  give  cause 
To  be  suspected  of  more  tenderness 


ACT  I.    SCENE  I.  45 

Than  doth  become  a  man.     I  will  remain 

The  loyal'st  husband  that  did  e'er  plight  troth  ; 

My  residence  in  Rome  at  one  Philario's, 

Who  to  my  father  was  a  friend,  to  me 

Known  but  by  letter.     Thither  write,  my  queen, 

And  with  mine  eyes  I  '11  drink  the  words  you  send,  itx> 

Though  ink  be  made  of  gall. 

Re-enter  QUEEN. 

Queen.  Be  brief,  I  pray  you. 

If  the  king  come,  I  shall  incur  I  know  not 
How  much  of  his  displeasure.  [Aside]  Yet  I  '11  move  him 
To  walk  this  way.     I  never  do  him  wrong, 
But  he  does  buy  my  injuries  to  be  friends, — 
Pays  dear  for  my  offences.  [Exit. 

Posthumus.  Should  we  be  taking  leave 

As  long  a  term  as  yet  we  have  to  live, 
The  loathness  to  depart  would  grow.     Adieu  ! 

Imogen.  Nay,  stay  a  little ; 

Were  you  but  riding  forth  to  air  yourself,  no 

Such  parting  were  too  petty.     Look  here,  love; 
This  diamond  was  my  mother's  :  take  it,  heart; 
But  keep  it  till  you  woo  another  wife, 
When  Imogen  is  dead. 

Posthumus.  How,  how!  another? — 

You  gentle  gods,  give  me  but  this  I  have, 
And  sear  up  my  embracements  from  a  next 
With  bonds  of  death  ! — [Putting  on  the  ring.']     Remain,  re- 
main thou  here 

While  sense  can  keep  it  on. — And,  sweetest,  fairest, 
As  I  my  poor  self  did  exchange  for  you, 
To  your  so  infinite  loss,  so  in  our  trifles  120 

I  still  win  of  you:  for  my  sake  wear  this; 
It  is  a  manacle  of  love;  I  '11  place  it 
Upon  this  fairest  prisoner.    [Putting  a  bracelet  upon  her  arm. 


46  CYMBELINE. 

Imogen.  O  the  gods  ! 

When  shall  we  see  again  ? 

Enter  CYMBELINE  and  Lords. 

Posthumus.  Alack,  the  king  ! 

Cymbeline.    Thou   basest   thing,  avoid !    hence,  from    my 

sight ! 

If  after  this  command  thou  fraught  the  court 
With  thy  unworthiness,  thou  diest.     Away  ! 
Thou  'rt  poison  to  my  blood. 

Posthumus.  The  gods  protect  you, 

And  bless  the  good  remainders  of  the  court ! 
I  am  gone.  [Exit. 

Imogen.       There  cannot  be  a  pinch  in  death  130 

More  sharp  than  this  is. 

Cymbeline.  O  disloyal  thing, 

That  shouldst  repair  my  youth,  thou  heap'st 
A  year's  age  on  me ! 

Imogen.  I  beseech  you,  sir, 

Harm  not  yourself  with  your  vexation. 
I  am  senseless  of  your  wrath ;  a  touch  more  rare 
Subdues  all  pangs,  all  fears. 

Cymbeline.  Past  grace  ?  obedience  ? 

Imogen.   Past  hope,  and  in  despair;  that  way,  past  grace. 

Cymbeline.   That  mightst  have  had  the  sole   son   of  my 
queen ! 

Imogen.  O  blest,  that  I  might  not !  I  chose  an  eagle, 
And  did  avoid  a  puttock.  140 

Cymbeline.  Thou  took'st   a   beggar,  would st   have   made 

my  throne 
A  seat  for  baseness. 

Imogen.  No;  I  rather  added 

A  lustre  to  it. 

Cymbeline.       O  thou  vile  one  ! 

Imogen.  Sir, 


ACT  I.     SCENE  I.  47 

It  is  your  fault  that  I  have  lov'd  Posthumus; 
You  bred  him  as  my  playfellow,  and  he  is 
A  man  worth  any  woman,  overbuys  me 
Almost  the  sum  he  pays. 

Cymbeline.  What,  art  thou  mad  ? 

Imogen.  Almost,  sir;  heaven  restore  me!     Would  I  were 
A  neat-herd's  daughter,  and  my  Leonatus 
Our  neighbour  shepherd's  son  ! 

Cymbeline.  Thou  foolish  thing! —      150 

Re-enter  QUEEN. 

They  were  again  together;  you  have  done 
Not  after  our  command.  Away  with  her, 
And  pen  her  up. 

Queen.  Beseech  your  patience. — Peace, 

Dear  lady  daughter,  peace  ! — Sweet  sovereign, 
Leave  us  to  ourselves ;  and  make  yourself  some  comfort 
Out  of  your  best  advice. 

Cymbeline.  Nay,  let  her  languish 

A  drop  of  blood  a  day,  and,  being  aged, 
Die  of  this  folly  !  \Exeunt  Cymbeline  and  Lords. 

Queen.  Fie  !  you  must  give  way. 

Enter  PISANIO. 
Here  is  your  servant. — How  now,  sir !     What  news  ? 

Pisanio.  My  lord  your  son  drew  on  my  master. 

Queen.  Ha !     *6o 

No  harm,  I  trust,  is  done  ? 

Pisanio.  There  might  have  been, 

But  that  my  master  rather  play'd  than  fought, 
And  had  no  help  of  anger ;  they  were  parted 
By  gentlemen  at  hand. 

Queen.  I  am  very  glad  on  't. 

Imogen.    Your   son  's  my  father's   friend;    he   takes  his 
part. — 


4$  CYMBELINE. 

To  draw  upon  an  exile  ! — O  brave  sir ! — 
I  would  they  were  in  Afric  both  together. 
Myself  by  with  a  needle,  that  I  might  prick 
The  goer-back. — Why  came  you  from  your  master? 

Pisanio.  On  his  command.     He  would  not  suffer  me      i7c 
To  bring  him  to  the  haven;  left  these  notes 
Of  what  commands  I  should  be  subject  to, 
When  't  pleas'd  you  to  employ  me. 

Queen.  This  hath  been 

Your  faithful  servant;  I  dare  lay  mine  honour 
He  will  remain  so. 

Pisanio.  I  humbly  thank  your  highness. 

Queen.  Pray,  walk  awhile. 

Imogen.  About  some  half-hour  hence, 

I  pray  you,  speak  with  me.     You  shall  at  least 
Go  see  my  lord  aboard;  for  this  time  leave  me.        \Exeunt. 

SCENE  IL     The  Same.     A  Public  Place. 
Enter  CLOTEN  and  two  Lords. 

1  Lord.  Sir,  I  would  advise  you  to  shift  a  shirt;  the  vio- 
lence of  action  hath  made  you  reek  as  a  sacrifice.     Where 
air  comes  out,  air  comes  in  ;  there  's  none  abroad  so  whole- 
some as  that  you  vent. 

Cloten.  If  my  shirt  were  bloody,  then  to  shift  it.     Have  I 
hurt  him  ? 

2  Lord.  [Aside]  No,  faith;  not  so  much  as  his  patience. 

1  Lord.    Hurt   him !    his   body 's   a  passable   carcass,  if 
he  be  not  hurt;  it  is  a  throughfare  for  steel,  if  it  be  not 
hurt.  10 

2  Lord.  [Aside\  His  steel  was  in  debt;  it  went  o'  the  back- 
side the  town. 

Cloten.  The  villain  would  not  stand  me. 
2  Lord.  [Aside]  No ;  but  he  fled  forward  still,  toward  your 
face. 


ACT  I.    SCENE  III. 


49 


1  Lord.  Stand  you  !     You  have  land  enough  of  your  own; 
but  he  added  to  your  having,  gave  you  some  ground. 

2  Lord.  [Aside]  As  many  inches  as  you  have  oceans. — 
Puppies  ! 

Cloten.  I  would  they  had  not  come  between  us.  20 

2  Lord.  [Aside]"$o  would  I,  till  you  had  measured  how 
long  a  fool  you  were  upon  the  ground. 

Cloten.  And  that  she  should  love  this  fellow  and  refuse 
me ! 

2  Lord.  [Aside]  If  it  be  a.  sin  to  make  a  true  election,  she 
is  damned. 

1  Lord.  Sir,  as  I  told  you  always,  her  beauty  and  her  brain 
go  not  together;  she  's  a  good  sign,  but  I  have  seen  small 
reflection  of  her  wit.  29 

2  Lord.  [Aside]  She  shines  not  upon  fools,  lest  the  reflec- 
tion should  hurt  her. 

Cloten.  Come,  I  '11  to  my  chamber.  Would  there  had 
been  some  hurt  clone  ! 

2  Lord.  [Aside]  I  wish  not  so;  unless  it  had  been  the  fall 
of  an  ass,  which  is  no  great  hurt. 

Cloten.  You  '11  go  with  us? 

1  Lord.  I  '11  attend  your  lordship. 

Cloten.  Nay,  come,  let  's  go.  together.  3s 

2  Lord.  Well,  my  lord.  \Exeunt. 

SCENE  III.     A  Room  in  Cymbeline^s  Palace. 
Enter  IMOGEN  and  PISANIO. 

Imogen:  I  would  thou  grew'st  unto  the  shores  o'  the  ha- 
ven, 

And  question'dst  every  sail ;  if  he  should  write, 
And  I  not  have  it,  't  were  a  paper  lost, 
As  offer'd  mercy  is.     What  was  the  last 
That  he  spake  to  thee  ? 

Pisanio.  It  was  his  queen,  his  queen  !. 

D 


50  CYMBELINE. 

Imogen.  Then  vvav'd  his  handkerchief? 

Pisanio.  And  kiss'd  it,  madam. 

.Imogen.  Senseless  linen  !  happier  therein  than  I ! — 
And  that  was  all  ? 

Pisanio.  No,  madam ;  for  so  long 

As  he  could  make  me  with  this  eye  or  ear 
Distinguish  him  from  others,  he  did  keep  J0 

The  deck,  with  glove,  or  hat,  or  handkerchief, 
Still  waving,  as  the  fits  and  stirs  of 's  mind 
Could  best  express  how  slow  his  soul  sail'd  on, 
How  swift  his  ship. 

Imogen.  Thou  shouldst  have  made  him 

As  little  as  a  crow,  or  less,  ere  left 
To  after-eye  him. 

Pisanio.  Madam,  so  I  did. 

Imogen.    I  would   have    broke   mine  eye -strings,  crack'd 

them,  but 

To  look  upon  him,  till  the  diminution 
Of  space  had  pointed  him  sharp  as  my  needle, 
Nay,  follow'd  him,  till  he  had  melted  from  20 

The  smallness  of  a  gnat  to  air,  and  then 
Have  turn'd  mine  eye  and  wept.     But,  good  Pisanio, 
When  shall  we  hear  from  him  ? 

Pisanio.  Be  assur'd,  madam, 

With  his  next  vantage. 

Imogen.  I  did  not  take  my  leave  of  him,  but  had 
Most  pretty  things  to  say :  ere  I  could  tell  him 
How  I  would  think  on  him  at  certain  hours 
Such  thoughts  and  such,  or  I  could  make  him  swear 
The  shes  of  Italy  should  not  betray 

Mine  interest  and  his  honour,  or  have  charg'd  him,  30 

At  the  sixth  hour  of  morn,  at  noon,  at  midnight, 
To  encounter  me  with  orisons,  for  then 
I  am  in  heaven  for  him ;  or  ere  I  could 
Give  him  that  parting  kiss  which  I  had  set 


ACT  L    SCENE  IV.  g-f 

Betwixt  two  charming  words,  comes  in  my  father 
And,  like  the  tyrannous  breathing  of  the  north, 
Shakes  all  our  buds  from  growing. 

Enter  a  Lady. 

Lady.  The  queen,  madam, 

Desires  your  highness'  company. 

Imogen.  Those  things  I  bid  you  do,  get  them  dispatch'd. — 
I  will  attend  the  queen. 

Pisanio*  Madam,  I  shall.  {Exeunt. 

SCENE  IV.     Rome.     Philario's  House. 

Enter  PHILARIO,  IACHIMO,  a  Frenchman,  a  Dutchman,  and 
a  Spaniard. 

lachimo.  Believe  it,  sir,  I  have  seen  him  in  Britain.  He 
was  then  of  a  crescent  note,  expected  to  prove  so  worthy  as 
since  he  hath  been  allowed  Jhe  name  of;  but  I  could  then 
have  looked  on  him  without  the  help  of  admiration,  though 
the  catalogue  of  his  endowments  had  been  tabled  by  his 
side  and  I  to  peruse  him  by  items. 

Philario.  You  speak  of  him  when  he  was  less  furnished 
than  now  he  is  with  that  which  makes  him  both  without  and 
within. 

Frenchman.  I  have  seen  him  in  France ;  we  had  very 
many  there  could  behold  the  sun  with  as  firm  eyes  as  he.  « 

lachimo.  This  matter  of  marrying  his  king's  daughter, 
wherein  he  must  be  weighed  rather  by  her  value  than  his 
own,  words  him,  I  doubt  not,  a  great  deal  from  the  mat- 
ter. 

Frenchman.  And  then  his  banishment — 

lachimo.  Ay,  and  the  approbation  of  those  that  weep  this 
lamentable  divorce  under  her  colours  are  wonderfully  to  ex- 
tend him;  be  it  but  to  fortify  her  judgment,  which  else  an 
easy  battery  might  lay  flat,  for  taking  a  beggar  without  less 


-52 


CYMBELINE. 


quality.  But  how  comes  it  he  is  to  sojourn  with  you?  How 
creeps  acquaintance  ?  22 

Philario.  His  father  and  I  were  soldiers  together;  to  whom 
I  have  been  often  bound  for  no  less  than  my  life.  —  Here 
comes  the  Briton  ;  let  him  be  so  entertained  amongst  you 
as  suits,  with  gentlemen  of  your  knowing,  to  a  stranger  of 
his  quality. — 

Enter  POSTHUMUS. 

I  beseech  you  all,  be  better  known  to  this  gentleman,  whom 
I  commend  to  you  as  a  noble  friend  of  mine ;  how  worthy 
he  is  I  will  leave"  to  appear  hereafter,  rather  than  story  him 
in  his  own  hearing.  31 

Frenchman.  Sir,  we  have  known  together  in  Orleans. 

Posthumus.  Since  when  I  have  been  debtor  to  you  far 
courtesies,  which  I  will  be  ever  to  pay  and  yet  pay  still. 

Frenchman.  Sir,  you  overrate  my  poor  kindness.  I  was 
glad  I  did  atone  my  countryman  and  you;  it  had  been  pity 
you  should  have  been  put  together  with  so  mortal  a  purpose 
as  then  each  bore,  upon  importance  of  so  slight  and  trivial 
a  nature.  39 

Posthumus.  By  your  pardon,  sir,  I  was  then  a  young  trav- 
eller; rather  shunned  to  go  even  with  what  I  heard  than  in 
my  every  action  to  be  guided  by  others'  experiences :  but 
upon  my  mended  judgment — if  I  offend  not  to  say  it  is  mend- 
ed— my  quarrel  was  not  altogether  slight. 

Frenchman.  Faith,  yes,  to  be  put  to  the  arbitrement  of 
swords,  and  by  such  two  that  would  by  all  likelihood  have 
confounded  one  the  other,  or  have  fallen  both. 

lachimo.  Can  we,  with  manners,  ask  what  was  the  differ- 
ence ?  49 

Frenchman.  Safely,  I  think.  'T  was  a  contention  in  pub- 
lic, which  may,  without  contradiction,  suffer  the  report.  It 
was  much  like  an  argument  that  fell  out  last  night,  where 
each  of  us  fell  in  praise  of  our  country  mistresses;  this  gen- 
tleman at  that  time  vouching — and  upon  warrant  of  bloody 


ACT  I.    SCENE 


53 


affirmation — his  to  be  more  fair,  virtuous,  wise,  chaste,  con- 
stant-qualified, and  less  attemptable  than  any  the  rarest  of 
our  ladies  in  France. 

lachimo.  That  lady  is  not  now  living,  or  this  gentleman's 
opinion  by  this  worn  out. 

Posthumus.  She  holds  her  virtue  still,  and  I  my  mind.     60 

lachimo.  You  must  not  so  far  prefer  her  fore  ours  of  Italy. 

Posthumus.  Being  so  far  provoked  as  I  was  in  France,  I 
would  abate  her  nothing,  though  I  profess  myself  her  adorer, 
not  her  friend. 

lachimo.  As  fair  and  as  good  —  a  kind  of  hand-in-hand 
comparison — had  been  something  too  fair  and  too  good  for 
any  lady  in  Britain.  If  she  went  before  others  I  have  seen, 
as  that  diamond  of  yours  outlustres  many  I  have  beheld,  I 
could  not  but  believe  she  excelled  many;  but  I  have  not 
seen  the  most  precious  diamond  that  is,  nor  you  the  lady.  7° 

Posthumus.  I  praised  her  as  I  rated  her;  so  do  I  my  stone. 

lachimo.  What  do  you  esteem  it  at? 

Posthumus.  More  than  the  world  enjoys. 

lachimo.  Either  your  unparagoned  mistress  is  dead,  or 
she  's  outprized  by  a  trifle. 

Posthumus.  You  are  mistaken :  the  one  may  be  sold,  or 
given,  if  there  were  wealth  enough  for  the  purchase,  or  merit 
for  the  gift;  the  other  is  not  a  thing  for  sale,  and  only  the 
gift  of  the  gods. 

lachimo.  Which  the  gods  have  given  you?  80 

Posthumus.  Which,  by  their  graces,  I  will  keep. 

lachimo.  You  may  wear  her  in  title  yours;  but,  you  know, 
strange  fowl  light  upon  neighbouring  ponds.  Your  ring  may 
be  stolen  too:  so  your  brace  of  unprizable  estimations,  the 
one  is  but  frail  and  the  other  casual ;  a  cunning  thief,  or  a 
that  way  accomplished  courtier,  would  hazard  the  winning 
both  of  first  and  last. 

Posthumus.  Your  Italy  contains  none  so  accomplished  a 
courtier  to  convince  the  honour  of  my  mistress,  if,  in  the 


54 


CYMBELINE. 


holding  or  loss  of  that,  you  term  her  frail.  I  do  nothing 
doubt  you  have  store  of  thieves ;  notwithstanding,  I  fear  not 
my  ring.  92 

Philario.  Let  us  leave  here,  gentlemen. 

Posthumus.  Sir,  with  all  my  heart.  This  worthy  signior,  I 
thank  him,  makes  no  stranger  of  me;  we  are  familiar  at  first. 

lachimo.  With  five  times  so  much  conversation,  I  should 
get  ground  of  your  fair  mistress,  make  her  go  back,  even  to 
the  yielding,  had  I  admittance  and  opportunity  to  friend. 

Posthumus.  No,  no.  99 

lachimo.  I  dare  thereupon  pawn  the  moiety  of  my  estate 
to  your  ring,  which,  in  my  opinion,  o'ervalues  it  something: 
but  I  make  my  wager  rather  against  your  confidence  than 
her  reputation ;  and,  to  bar  your  offence  herein  too,  I  durst 
attempt  it  against  any  lady  in  the  world. 

Posthumus.  You  are  a  great  deal  abused  in  too  bold  a 
persuasion ;  and  I  doubt  not  you  sustain  what  you  're  worthy 
of  by  your  attempt. 

lachimo.  What 's  that? 

Posthumus.  A  repulse;  though  your  attempt,  as  you  call 
It,  deserve  more, — a  punishment  too.  no 

Philario.  Gentlemen,  enough  of  this:  it  came  in  too  sud- 
denly ;  let  it  die  as  it  was  born,  and,  I  pray  you,  be  better 
acquainted. 

lachimo.  Would  I  had  put  my  estate  and  my  neighbour's 
on  the  approbation  of  what  I  have  spoke ! 

Posthumus.  What  lady  would  you  choose  to  assail? 

lachimo.  Yours,  whom  in  constancy  you  think  stands  so 
safe.  I  will  lay  you  ten  thousand  ducats  to  your  ring,  that, 
commend  me  to  the  court  where  your  lady  is,  with  no  more 
advantage  than  the  opportunity  of  a  second  conference,  and 
I  will  bring  from  thence  that  honour  of  hers  which  you  im- 
agine so  reserved.  122 

Posthumus.  I  will  wage  against  your  gold,  gold  to  it:  my 
ring  I  hold  dear  as  my  finger;  't  is  part  of  it. 


ACT  I.     SCENE  7F. 


55 


lachimo.  You  are  afraid,  and  therein  the  wiser.  If  you 
buy  ladies'  flesh  at  a  million  a  dram,  you  cannot  preserve  it 
from  tainting;  but  I  see  you  have  some  religion  in  you, — 
that  you  fear. 

Posthumus.  This  is  but  a  custom  in  your  tongue ;  you  bear 
a  graver  purpose,  I  hope.  130 

lachimo.  I  am  the  master  of  my  speeches,  and  would  un- 
dergo what 's  spoken,  I  swear. 

Posthumus.  Will  you  ?  I  shall  but  lend  my  diamond  till 
your  return.  Let  there  be  covenants  drawn  between  's.  My 
mistress  exceeds  in  goodness  the  hugeness  of  your  unworthy 
thinking.  I  dare  you  to  this  match;  here  's  my  ring. 

Philario.  I  will  have  it  no  lay. 

lachimo.  By  the  gods,  it  is  one. — If  I  bring  you  no  suffi- 
cient testimony  that  I  have  enjoyed  the  dearest  bodily  part 
of  your  mistress,  my  ten  thousand  ducats  are  yours;  so  is 
your  diamond  too.  If  I  come  off,  and  leave  her  in  such 
honour  as  you  have  trust  in,  she  your  jewel,  this  your  jewel, 
and  my  gold  are  yours;  provided  I  have  your  commenda- 
tion for  my  more  free  entertainment.  144 

Posthumus.  I  embrace  these  conditions;  let  us  have  arti- 
cles betwixt  us.  Only,  thus  far  you  shall  answer:  if  you  make 
your  voyage  upon  her  and  give  me  directly  to  understand  you 
have  prevailed,  I  am  no  further  your  enemy;  she  is  not  worth 
our  debate :  if  she  remain  unseduced,  you  not  making  it  ap- 
pear otherwise,  for  your  ill  opinion  and  the  assault  you  have 
made  to  her  chastity  you  shall  answer  me  with  your  sword. 

lachimo.  Your  hand;  a  covenant.  We  will  have  these 
things  set  down  by  lawful  counsel,  and  straight  away  for 
Britain,  lest  the  bargain  should  catch  cold  and  starve.  I 
will  fetch  my  gold  and  have  our  two  wagers  recorded.  155 

Posthumus.  Agreed.  \Exeunt  Posthumus  and  lachimo. 

Frenchman.  Will  this  hold,  think  you  ? 

Philario.  Signior  lachimo  will  not  from  it.  Pray,  let  us 
follow  'em.  {Exeunt. 


56  CYMBELINE. 


SCENE  V.     Britain.     A  Room  in  Cymbeline's  Palace. 
Enter  QUEEN,  Ladies,  and  CORNELIUS. 

Queen.  Whiles  yet  the   dew  V  on  ground,  gather  those 

flowers ; 
Make  haste.    -Who  has  the  note  of  them  ? 

i  Lady.  I,  madam. 

Queen.  Dispatch.—7   .  \ExeuntLadies. 

Now,  .master  doctor,  have  you  brought  those  drugs? 

Cornelius.  Pleaseth  your  highness,  ay;  here  they  are,  mad- 
am. :       ;    .  [Presenting  a  small  box. 
But  I  beseech  your  grace,  without  offence,—     ' 
My  conscience  bids  me  ask — wherefore  you  have 
Commanded  of  me  these  most  poisonous  compounds, 
Which  are  the  movers  of  a  languishing  death, 
But  though  slow,  deadly? 

Queen.  I  wonder,  doctor,  *> 

Thou  ask'st  me  such  a  question.     Have  I  not  been 
Thy  pupil  long?     Hast  thou  not  learn'd  me  how 
To  make  perfumes?  distil?  preserve?  yea,  so 
That  our  great  king  himself  doth  woo  me  oft      ...... 

For  my  confections?     Having  thus,  far  proceeded, — 
Unless  thou  think'st  me  devilish— is  't  not  meet 
That  I  did  amplify  my  judgment  in 
Other  conclusions?     I  will  try  the  forces 
Of  these  thy  compounds  on  such  creatures  as 
We  count  not  worth  the  hanging,  but  none  human,  *> 

To  try  the  vigour  of  them  and  apply 
Allayments;to  their  act,  and  by  them  gather 
Their  several  virtues,  and  effects.  ; 

:  Cornelius.     ..  Your  highness 

Shall  from  this  practice  but  make  hard  your  heart ; 
Besides;  the  seeing. these  effects  will  be vJ  .   ; 

Both  noisome  and  infectious, 

Queen.  O,  content  thee. — 


ACT  I.     SCEA'E   V. 


57 


Enter  PISANIO. 

\Aside\  Here  comes  a  flattering  rascal ;  upon  him 
Will  I  first  work:  he  's  for  his  master, 
And  enemy  to  my  son. — How  now,  Pisanio  ! — 
Doctor,  your  service  for  this  time  is  ended ;  30 

Take  your  own  way. 

Cornelius.      [Aside]  I  do  suspect  you,  madam; 
But  you  shall  do  no  harm. 

Queen.  \To  Pisanio\  Hark  thee,  a  word. 

Cornelius.  \Aside\  I  do  not  like  her.     She  doth  think  she 

has 

Strange  lingering  poisons;  I  do  know  her  spirit, 
And  will  not  trust  one  of  her  malice  with 
A  drug  of  such  damn'd  nature.     Those  she  has 
Will  stupefy  and  dull  the  sense  awhile; 
Which  first,  perchance,  she  '11  prove  on  cats  and  dogs, 
Then  afterward  up  higher:  but  there  is 

No  danger  in  what  show  of  death  it  makes,  40 

More  than  the  locking-up  the  spirits  a  time, 
To  be  more  fresh,  reviving.     She  is  fool'd 
With  a  most  false  effect;  and  I  the  truer, 
So  to  be  false  with  her. 

Queen.  No  further  service,  doctor, 

Until  I  send  for  thee. 

Cornelius.  I  humbly  take  my  leave.  [Exit. 

Queen.  Weeps  she  still,  say'st  thou  ?     Dost  thou  think  in 

time 

She  will  not  quench  and  let  instructions  enter 
Where  folly  now  possesses?     Do  thou  work. 
When  thou  shalt  bring  me  word  she  loves  my  son, 
I  '11  tell  thee  on  the  instant  thou  art  then  50 

As  great  as  is  thy  master,— greater,  for 
His  fortunes  all  lie  speechless  and  his  name. 
Is  at  last  gasp :  return  he  cannot,  nor 


5  8  CYMBELINE. 

Continue  where  he  is ;  to  shift  his  being 
Is  to  exchange  one  misery  with  another, 
And  every  day  that  comes  comes  to  decay 
A  day's  work  in  him.     What  shalt  thou  expect, 
To  be  depender  on  a  thing  that  leans, 
Who  cannot  be  new  built,  nor  has  no  friends, 
So  much  as  but  to  prop  him?     [The  Queen  drops  the  box; 
Pisanio  takes  it  upJ\ — Thou  tak'st  up  60 

Thou  know'st  not  what ;  but  take  it  for  thy  labour. 
It  is  a  thing  I  made,  which  hath  the  king 
Five  times  redeem'd  from  death ;  I  do  not  know 
What  is  more  cordial.     Nay,  I  prithee,  take  it; 
It  is  an  earnest  of  a  further  good 
That  I  mean  to  thee.     Tell  thy  mistress  how 
The  case  stands  with  her ;  do  't  as  from  thyself. 
Think  what  a  chance  thou  changest  on,  but  think 
Thou  hast  thy  mistress  still;  to  boot,  my  son, 
Who  shall  take  notice  of  thee.     I  '11  move  the  king  70 

To 'any  shape  of  thy  preferment  such 
As  thou  'It  desire  ;  and  then  myself,  I  chiefly, 
That  set  thee  on  to  this  desert,  am  bound 
To  load  thy  merit  richly.     Call  my  women. 
Think  on  my  words. —  [Exit  Pisanio. 

A  sly  and  constant  knave, 
Not  to  be  shak'd ;  the  agent  far  his  master, 
And  the  remembrancer  of  her  to  hold 
The  hand-fast  to  her  lord.     I  have  given  him  that 
Which,  if  he  take,  shall  quite  unpeople  her 
Of  liegers  for  her  sweet,  and  which  she  after,  80 

Except  she  bend  her  humour,  shall  be  assur'd 
To  taste  of  too. — 

Re-enter  PISANIO  and  Ladies. 

So,  so  ;  well  done,  well  done. 
The  violets,  cowslips,  and  the  primroses, 


ACT  I.     SCENE  VL 


59 


Bear  to  my  closet. — Fare  thee  well,  Pisanio ; 

Think  on  my  words.  [Exeunt  Queen  and  Ladies. 

Pisanio.  And  shall  do: 

But  when  to  my  good  lord  I  prove  untrue, 
I  '11  choke  myself;  there  's  all  I  '11  do  for  you.  [Exit. 


SCENE*  VI.      The  Same.     Another  Room  in  the  Palace. 

Enter  IMOGEN. 

Imogen.  A  father  cruel,  and  a  step-dame  false ; 
A  foolish  suitor  to  a  wedded  lady, 
That  hath  her  husband  banish'd : — O,  that  husband ! 
My  supreme  crown  of  grief!  and  those  repeated 
Vexations  of  it !     Had  I  been  thief-stol'n, 
As  my  two  brothers,  happy !  but  most  miserable 
Is  the  desire  that  1s  glorious ;  blest  be  those, 
How  mean  soe'er,  that  have  their  honest  wills, 
Which  seasons  comfort. — Who  may  this  be  ?     Fie  ! 

Enter  PISANIO  and  IACHIMO. 

Pisanio.  Madam,  a  noble  gentleman  of  Rome,  10 

Comes  from  my  lord  with  letters. 

lachimo.  Change  you,  madam  ? 

The  worthy  Leonatus  is  in  safety 
And  greets  your  highness  dearly.  [Presents  a  letter. 

Imogen.  Thanks,  good  sir; 

You  're  kindly  welcome. 

lachimo.  \Aside\  All  of  her  that  is  out  of  door  most  rich ! 
If  she  be  furnish'd  with  a  mind  so  rare, 
She  is  alone  the  Arabian  bird,  and  I 
Have  lost  the  wager.     Boldness  be  my  friend! 
Arm  me,  audacity,  from  head  to  foot ! 

Or,  like  the  Parthian,  I  shall  flying  fight ;  20 

Rather,  directly  fly. 


60  CYMBELINE. 

Imogen.  [Reads]  *  He  is  one  of  the  noblest  note,  to  whose 
kindnesses  I  am  most  infinitely  tied.     Reflect  upon  him  accord- 
ingly, as  you  value  your  truest  LEONATUS.' 
So  far  I  read  aloud ; 
But  even  the  very  middle  of  my  heart 
Is  warm'd  by  the  rest,  and  takes  it  thankfully. 
You  are  as  welcome,  worthy  sir,  as  I 
Have  words  to  bid  you,  and  shall  find  it  so 
In  all  that  I  can  do. 

lachimo.  \  Thanks,  fairest  lady. —  30 

What,  are  men  mad?     Hath  nature  given  them  eyes 
To  see  this  vaulted  arch,  and  the  rich  crop 
Of  sea  and  land,  which  can  distinguish  'twixt 
The  fiery  orbs  above  and  the  twinn'd  stones 
Upon  the  unnumber'd  beach?  and  can  we  not 
Partition  make  with  spectacles  so  precious 
'Twixt  fair  and  foul? 

Imogen.  What  makes  your  admiration? 

lachimo.   It  cannot  be  i'  the  eye,  for  apes  and  monkeys 
'Twixt  two  such  shes  would  chatter  this  way  and 
Contemn  with  mows  the  other;  nor  i' the  judgment,  40 

For  idiots  in  this  case  of  favour  would 
Be  wisely  definite;  nor  i'  the  appetite; 
Sluttery  to  such  neat  excellence  oppos'd 
Should  make  desire  vomit  emptiness, 
Not  so  allur'd  to  feed. 

Imogen.  What  is  the  matter,  trow? 

lachimo.  The  cloyed  will, 

That  satiate  yet  unsatisfied  desire,  that  tub 
Both  filPd  and  running,  ravening  first  the  lamb, 
Longs  after  for  the  garbage. 

Imogen.  What,  dear  sir, 

Thus  raps  you  ?     Are  you  well  ?  50 

lachimo.  Thanks,  madam;  well.  —  \To  Pisani6\  Beseech 
you,  sir,  desire 


ACT  /.     SCENE   VI.  fa 

My  man's  abode  where  I  did  leave  him ;  he 
Is  strange  and  peevish. 

Pisanio.  I  was  going,  sir, 

To  give  him  welcome.  \Exit. 

Imogen.  Continues  well   my  lord?     His  health,  beseech 
you  ? 

lachimo.  Well,  madam. 

Imogen.  Is  he  dispos'd  to  mirth?     I  hope  he  is. 

lachimo.  Exceeding  pleasant ;  none  a  stranger  there 
So  merry  and  so  gamesome :  he  is  call'd 
The  Briton  reveller. 

Imogen.  When  he  was  here  60 

He  did  incline  to  sadness,  and  oft-times 
Not  knowing  why. 

lachimo.  I  never  saw  him  sad. 

There  is  a  Frenchman  his  companion,  one 
An  eminent  monsieur,  that,  it  seems,  much  loves 
A  Gallian  girl  at  home  ;  he  furnaces 
The  thick  sighs  from  him,  whiles  the  jolly  Briton  — 
Your  lord,  I  mean — laughs  from  's  free  lungs,  cries  '  O, 
Can  my  sides  hold,  to  think  that  man,  who  knows 
By  history,  report,  or  his  own  proof, 

What  woman  is,  yea,  what  she  cannot  choose  7o 

But  must  be,  will  his  free  hours  languish  for 
Assured  bondage  ?' 

Imogen.  Will  my  lord  say  so? 

lachimo.  Ay,  madam,  with  his  eyes  in  flood  with  laughter; 
It  is  a  recreation  to  be  by, 

And  hear  him  mock  the  Frenchman.     But,  heavens  know, 
Some  men  are  much  to  blame. 

Imogen.  Not  he,  I  hope. 

lachimo.  Not  he  :  but  yet  heaven's  bounty  towards  him 

might 

Be  us'd  more  thankfully.     In  himself,  't  is  much; 
In  you,  which  I  account  his  beyond  all  talents, 


62  CYMBELINE. 

Whilst  I  am  bound  to  wonder,  I  am  bound 
To  pity  too. 

Imogen.         What  do  you  pity,  sir  ? 

lachimo.  Two  creatures  heartily. 

Imogen.  Am  I  one,  sir  ? 

You  look  on  me ;  what  wrack  discern  you  in  me 
Deserves  your  pity  ? 

lachimo.  Lamentable!     What! 

To  hide  me  from  the  radiant  sun,  and  solace 
I'  the  dungeon  by  a  snuff? 

Imogen.  I  pray  you,  sir, 

Deliver  with  more  openness  your  answers 
To  my  demands.     Why  do  you  pity  me  ? 

lachimo.  That  others  do — 
I  was  about  to  say — enjoy  your — — But 
It  is  an  office  of  the  gods  to  venge  it, 
Not  mine  to  speak  on  't. 

Imogen.  You  do  seem  to  know 

Something  of  me,  or  what  concerns  me  :  pray  you, — 
Since  doubting  things  go  ill  often  hurts  more 
Than  to  be  sure  they  do ;  for  certainties 
Either  are  past  remedies,  or,  timely  knowing, 
The  remedy  then  born — discover  to  me 
What  both  you  spur  and  stop. 

lachimo.  Had  I  this  cheek 

To  bathe  my  lips  upon ;  this  hand,  whose  touch, 
Whose  every  touch,  would  force  the  feeler's  soul 
To  the  oath  of  loyalty;  this  object,  which 
Takes  prisoner  the  wild  motion  of  mine  eye, 
Fixing  it  only  here;  should  I,  damn'd  then, 
Slaver  with  lips  as  common  as  the  stairs 
That  mount  the  Capitol,  join  gripes  with  hands 
Made  hard  with  hourly  falsehood — falsehood,  as 
With  labour;  then  by-peeping  in  an  eye 
Base  and  unlustrous  as  the  smoky  light 


ACT  I.     SCENE   VI.  63 

That 's  fed  with  stinking  tallow ;  it  were  fit 

That  all  the  plagues  of  hell  should  at  one  time  no 

Encounter  such  revolt. 

Imogen.  My  lord,  I  fear, 

Has  forgot  Britain. 

lachimo.  And  himself.     Not  I, 

Inclin'd  to  this  intelligence,  pronounce 
The  beggary  of  his  change  ;  but 't  is  your  graces 
That  from  my  mutest  conscience  to  my  tongue 
Charms  this  report  out. 

Imogen.  Let  me  hear  no  more. 

lachimo.  O  dearest  soul !  your  cause  doth  strike  my  heart 
With  pity,  that  doth  make  me  sick.     A  lady 
So  fair,  and  fasten'd  to  an  empery, 

Would  make  the  great'st  king  double, — to  be  partner'd      120 
With  tomboys  hir'd  with  that  self  exhibition 
Which  your  own  coffers  yield !  with  diseas'd  ventures 
That  play  with  all  infirmities  for  gold 
Which  rottenness  can  lend  nature  !  such  boil'd  stuff 
As  well  might  poison  poison  !     Be  reveng'd ; 
Or  she  that  bore  you  was  no  queen,  and  you 
Recoil  from  your  great  stock. 

Imogen.  Reveng'd ! 

How  should  I  be  reveng'd?     If  this  be  true, — 
As  I  have  such  a  heart  that  both  mine  ears 
Must  not  in  haste  abuse — if  it  be  true,  130 

How  should  I  be  reveng'd  ? 

lachimo.  Should  he  make  me 

Live,  like  Diana's  priest,  betwixt  cold  sheets, 
Whiles  he  is  vaulting  variable  ramps, 
In  your  despite,  upon  your  purse  ?     Revenge  it. 
I  dedicate  myself  to  your  sweet  pleasure, 
More  noble  than  that  runagate  to  your  bed, 
And  will  continue  fast  to  your  affection, 
Still  close  as  sure. 


G4  CYMBELINE. 

Imogen.  What  ho,  Pisanio  ! 

lachimo.  Let  me  my  service  tender  on  your  lips. 

Imogen.  Away!     I  do  condemn  mine  ears  that  have 
So  long  attended  thee.     If-thou  wert  honourable, 
Thou  wouldst  have  told  this  tale  for  virtue,  not 
For  such  an  end  thou  seek'st, — as  base  as  strange. 
Thou  wrong'st  a  gentleman,  who  is  as  far 
From  thy  report  as  thou  from  honour,  and 
Solicit'st  here  a  lady  that  disdains 
Thee  and  the  devil  alike.  —  What  ho,  Pisanio ! — 
The  king  my  father  shall  be  made  acquainted 
Of  thy.. assault;  if  he  shall  think  it  fit, 
A  saucy  stranger  in  his  court  to  mart 
As  in  a  Romish  stew  and  to  expound 
His  beastly  mind  to  us,  he  hath  a  court 
He  little  cares  for  and  a  daughter  who 
He  not  respects  at  all. — What  ho,  Pisanio ! 

lachimo.   O  happy  Leonatus  !  I  may  say; 
The  credit  that  thy  lady  hath  of  thee 
Deserves  thy  trust,  and  thy  most  perfect  goodness 
Her  assur'd  credit. — Blessed  live  you  long ! 
A  lady  to  the  worthiest  sir  that  ever 
Country  call'd  his  !  and  you  his  mistress,  only 
For  the  most  worthiest  fit !     Give  me  your  pardon. 
I  have  spoke  this,  to  know  if  your  affiance 
Were  deeply  rooted,  and  shall  make  your  lord, 
That  which  he  is,  new  o'er :  and  he  is  one 
The  truest  manner'd,  such  a  holy  witch 
That  he  enchants  societies  into  him ; 
Half  all  men's  hearts  are  his. 

Imogen.  You  make  amends. 

lachimo.  He  sits  'mongst  men  like  a  descended  god ; 
He  hath  a  kind  of  honour  sets  him  off, 
More  than  a  mortal  seeming.     Be  not  angry, 
Most  mighty  princess,  that  I  have  aclventuf'd 


ACT  I.     SCENE   VI.  65 

To  try  your  taking  of  a  false  report;  which  hath 
Honour'd  with  confirmation  your  great  judgment 
In  the  election  of  a  sir  so  rare, 
Which  you  know  cannot  err.     The  love  I  bear  him 
Made  me  to  fan  you  thus,  but  the  gods  made  you, 
Unlike  all  others,  chaffless.     Pray,  your  pardon. 

Imogen.  All 's  well,  sir.  Take  my  power  i'  the  court  for  yours. 

lachimo.  My  humble  thanks.     I  had  almost  forgot 
To  entreat  your  grace  but  in  a  small  request,  180 

And  yet  of  moment  too,  for  it  concerns 
Your  lord;  myself  and  other  noble  friends 
Are  partners  in  the  business. 

Imogen.  Pray,  what  is  't  ? 

lachimo.  Some  dozen  Romans  of  us  and  your  lord — 
The  best  feather  of  our  wing — have  mingled  sums 
To  buy  a  present  for  the  emperor; 
Which  I,  the  factor  for  the  rest,  have  done 
In  France:  't  is  plate  of  rare  device,  and  jewels 
Of  rich  and  exquisite  form,  their  values  great ; 
And  I  am  something  curious,  being  strange,  190 

To  have  them  in  safe  stowage.     May  it  please  you 
To  take  them  in  protection  ? 

Imogen.  Willingly, 

And  pawn  mine  honour  for  their  safety;  since 
My  lord  hath  interest  in  them,  I  will  keep  them 
In  my  bedcliamber. 

lachimo.  They  are  in  a  trunk, 

Attended  by  my  men.  I  will  make  bold 
To  send  them  to  you,  only  for  this  night; 
I  must  aboard  to-morrow. 

Imogen.  O,  no,  no. 

lachimo.  Yes,  I  beseech ;  or  I  shall  short  my  word 
By  lengthening  my  return.     From  Gallia  200 

I  cross'd  the  seas  on  purpose  and  on  promise 
To  see  your  grace. 

E 


66 


CYMBELINE. 


Imogen.  I  thank  you  for  your  pains; 

But  not  away  to-morrow ! 

lackimo.  O,  I  must,  madam. 

Therefore  I  shall  beseech  you,  if  you  please 
To  greet  your  lord  with  writing,  do  't  to-night; 
I  have  outstood  my  time,  which  is  material 
To  the  tender  of  our  present. 

Imogen.  I  will  write. 

Send  your  trunk  to  me ;  it  shall  safe  be  kept, 
And  truly  yielded  you.     You  're  very  welcome. 


[Exeunt. 


STONEHENGE. 


ACT   II. 
SCENE  I.     Britain.     Before  CymbelMs  Palace. 

Enter  CLOTEN  and  two  Lords. 

Cloten.  Was  there  ever  man  had  such  luck  !  when  I  kissed 
the  jack,  upon  an  up-cast  to  be  hit  away !  I  had  a  hundred 
pound  on  't :  and  then  a  whoreson  jackanapes  must  take  me 
up  for  swearing;  as  if  I  borrowed  mine  oaths  of  him  and 
might  not  spend  them  at  my  pleasure. 

1  Lord.  What  got  he  by  that?     You  have  broke  his  pate 
with  your  bowl. 

2  Lord.  {Aside~\  If  his  wit  had  been  like  him  that  broke  it, 
it  would  have  run  all  out.  9 


68  CYMBELINE. 

Cloten.  When  a  gentleman  is  disposed  to  swear,  it  is  not 
for  any  standers-by  to  curtail  his  oaths,  ha  ? 

2  Lord.  No,  my  lord;  [Aside]  nor  crop  the  ears  of 
them. 

Cloten.  Whoreson  dog !  I  give  him  satisfaction  ?  Would 
he  had  been  one  of  my  rank  ! 

2  Lord.  [Aside]  To  have  smelt  like  a  fool. 

Cloten.  I  am  not  vexed  more  at  any  thing  in  the  earth.  A 
pox  on  't !  I  had  rather  not  be  so  noble  as  I  am ;  they  dare 
not  fight  with  me,  because  of  the  queen  my  mother.  Every 
Jack-slave  hath  his  bellyful  of  fighting,  and  I  must  go  up  and 
down  like  a  cock  that  nobody  can  match.  21 

2  Lord.  [Aside']  You  are  cock  and  capon  too;  and  you 
crow,  cock,  with  your  comb  on. 

Cloten.  Sayest  thou  ? 

2  Lord.  It  is  not  fit  your  lordship  should  undertake  every 
companion  that  you  give  offence  to. 

Cloten.  No,  I  know  that;  but  it  is  fit  I  should  commit  of- 
fence to  my  inferiors. 

2  Lord.  Ay,  it  is  fit  for  your  lordship  only. 

Cloten.  Why,  so  I  say.  30 

1  Lord.  Did  you  hear  of  a  stranger  that  Js  come  to  court 
to-night  ? 

Cloten.  A  stranger,  and  I  not  know  on  't ! 

2  Lord.  [Aside]  He  's  a  strange  fellow  himself,  and  knows 
it  not. 

i  Lord.  There  's  an  Italian  come;  and, 't  is  thought,  one 
of  Leonatus'  friends. 

Cloten.  Leonatus !  a  banished  rascal ;  and  he  's  another, 
whatsoever  he  be.  Who  told  you  of  this  stranger? 

1  Lord.  One  of  your  lordship's  pages.  40 
Cloten.  Is  it  fit  I  went  to  look  upon  him  ?  is  there  no  der- 
ogation in  't? 

2  Lord.  You  cannot  derogate,  my  lord. 
Cloten.  Not  easily,  I  think. 


ACT  II.     SCENE  II.  69 

2  Lord.  [Aside]  You  are  a  fool  granted ;   therefore  your 
issues,  being  foolish,  do  not  derogate. 

Cloten.  Come,  I  '11  go  see  this  Italian.     What  I  have  lost 
to-day  at  bowls  I  '11  win  to-night  of  him.     Come,  go. 

2  Lord.  I  '11  attend  your  lordship. — 

[Exeunt  Cloten  and  i  Lord. 

That  such  a  crafty  devil  as  is  his  mother  50 

Should  yield  the  world  this  ass !  a  woman  that 
Bears  all  down  with  her  brain;  and  this  her  son 
Cannot  take  two  from  twenty,  for  his  heart, 
And  leave  eighteen.     Alas,  poor  princess, 
Thou  divine  Imogen,  what  thou  endur'st, 
Betwixt  a  father  by  thy  step-dame  govern'd, 
A  mother  hourly  coining  plots,  a  wooer 
More  hateful  than  the  foul  expulsion  is 
Of  thy  dear  husband,  than  that  horrid  act 
Of  the  divorce  he  'd  make  !     The  heavens  hold  firm  60 

The  walls  of  thy  dear  honour,  keep  unshak'd 
That  temple,  thy  fair  mind,  that  thou  mayst  stand, 
To  enjoy  thy  banish'd  lord  and  this  great  land !  [Exit. 

SCENE  II.     Imogen's  Bedchamber;  a  trunk  in  one  corner  of  it, 

IMOGEN  in  bed,  reading ;  a  Lady  attending. 
Imogen.  Who  's  there  ?  my  woman  Helen  ? 
Lady.  Please  you,  madam. 

Imogen.  What  hour  is  it  ? 

Lady.  Almost  midnight,  madam. 

Imogen.  I  have  read  three  hours  then.     Mine  eyes   are 

weak; 

Fold  down  the  leaf  where  I  have  left :  to  bed. 
Take  not  away  the  taper,  leave  it  burning; 
And  if  thou  canst  awake  by  four  o'  the  clock, 
I  prithee,  call  me.     Sleep  hath  seiz'd  me  wholly.— 

[Exit  Lady. 


70  CYMBELINE. 

To  your  protection  I  commend  me,  gods  ! 
From  fairies  and  the  tempters  of  the  night 
Guard  me,  beseech  ye  !  I0 

[Sleeps,     lachimo  comes  from  the  trunk, 
lachimo.  The  crickets  sing,  and  man's  o'erlabour'd  sense 
Repairs  itself  by  rest.     Our  Tarquin  thus 
Did  softly  press  the  rushes,  ere  he  waken 'd 
The  chastity  he  wounded. — Cytherea, 
How  bravely  thou  becom'st  thy  bed,  fresh  lily, 
And  whiter  than  the  sheets  !     That  I  might  touch  ! 
But  kiss;  one  kiss  ! — Rubies  unparagon'd, 
How  dearly  they  do  't ! — 'T  is  her  breathing  that 
Perfumes  the  chamber  thus ;  the  flame  o'  the  taper 
Bows  toward  her,  and  would  under-peep  her  lids,  20 

To  see  the  enclosed  lights,  now  canopied 
Under  these  windows,  white  and  azure,  lac'd 
With  blue  of  heaven's  own  tinct. — But  my  design, 
To  note  the  chamber.     I  will  write  all  down  : 
Such  and  such  pictures;  there  the  window;  such 
The  adornment  of  her  bed;  the  arras-figures, 
Why,  such  and  such;  and  the  contents  o'  the  story. 
Ah,  but  some  natural  notes  about  her  body, 
Above  ten  thousand  meaner  movables 

Would  testify,  to  enrich  mine  inventory. —  30 

O  sleep,  thou  ape  of  death,  lie  dull  upon  her ! 
And  be  her  sense  but  as  a  monument, 
Thus  in  a  chapel  lying ! — Come  off,  come  off; — 

[Taking  off  her  bracelet 

As  slippery  as  the  Gordian  knot  was  hard  !— 
?T  is  mine;  and  this  will  witness  outwardly, 
As  strongly  as  the  conscience  does  within, 
To  the  madding  of  her  lord.— On  her  left  breast 
A  mole  cinque-spotted,  like  the  crimson  drops 
I'  the  bottom  of  a  cowslip  :  here  's  a  voucher, 
Stronger  than  ever  law  could  make;  this  secret  40 


ACT  II.     SCENE  III.  7! 

Will  force  him  think  I  have  pick'd  the  lock  and  ta'en 

The  treasure  of  her  honour.     No  more.     To  what  end  ? 

Why  should  I  write  this  down,  that  's  riveted, 

Screw'd  to  my  memory  ?     She  hath  been  reading  late 

The  tale  of  Tereus;  here  the  leaf's  turn'd  down 

Where  Philomel  gave  up. — I  have  enough ; 

To  the  trunk  again,  and  shut  the  spring  of  it. — 

Swift,  swift,  you  dragons  of  the  night,  that  dawning 

May  bare  the  raven's  eye  !  I  lodge  in  fear ;  49 

Though  this  a  heavenly  angel,  hell  is  here.         \Clock  strikes. 

One,  two,  three  ; — time,  time  ! 

[  Goes  into  the  trunk.     The  scene  closes. 

SCENE    III.      An  Ante -chamber  adjoining  Imogen's  Apart- 
ments. 

Enter  CLOTEN  and  Lords. 

i  Lord.  Your  lordship  is  the  most  patient  man  in  loss, 
the  most  coldest  that  ever  turned  up  ace. 

Cloten.  It  would  make  any  man  cold  to  lose. 

i  Lord.  But  not  every  man  patient  after  the  noble  temper  of 
your  lordship.  You  are  most  hot  and  furious  when  you  win. 

Cloten.  Winning  will  put  any  man  into  courage.  If  I  could 
get  this  foolish  Imogen,  I  should  have  gold  enough.  It  's 
almost  morning,  is  't  not  ?  * 

i  Lord.  Day,  my  lord.  9 

Cloten.  I  would  this  music  would  come.  I  am  advised  to 
give  her  music  o'  mornings ;  they  say  it  will  penetrate.— 

Enter  Musicians. 

Come  on;  tune:  if  you  can  penetrate  her  with  your  finger- 
ing, so;  we  '11  try  with  tongue  too  :  if  none  will  do,  let  her  re- 
main ;  but  I  '11  never  give  o'er.  First,  a  very  excellent  good- 
conceited  thing;  after,  a  wonderful  sweet  air,  with  admirable 
rich  words  to  it;— and  then  let  her  consider. 


7  2  CYMBELINE. 

Song. 

Hark,  hark  !  the  lark  at  heaven's  gate  sings, 

And  Phoebus  gins  arise, 
His  steeds  to  water  at  those  springs 

On  chalic' d flowers  that  lies  ;  20 

And  winking  Mary-buds  begin 
To  ope  their  golden  eyes ; 

With  every  thing  that  pretty  is, 
My  lady  sweet,  arise; 
Arise,  arise  ! 

Cloten.  So,  get  you  gone.     If  this  penetrate,  I  will  consider 

your  music  the  better;  if  it  do  not,  it  is  a  vice  in  her  ears, 

which  horse-hairs  and  calves'-guts,  nor  the  voice  of  eunuch 

to  boot,  can  never  amend.  [Exeunt  Musicians. 

2  Lord.  Here  comes  the  king.  3o 

Cloten.  I  am  glad  I  was  up  so  late ;  for  that 's  the  reason 

I  was  up  so  early :  he  cannot  choose  but  take  this  service  I 

have  done  fatherly. — 

Enter  CYMBELINE  and  QUEEN. 
Good  morrow  to  your  majesty  and  to  my  gracious  mother. 

Cymbeline.  Attend  you  here  the  door  of  our  stern  daugh- 
ter? 
Will  she  not  forth  ? 

Cloten.  I  have  assailed  her  with  music,  but  she  vouchsafes 
no  notice. 

Cymbeline.  The  exile  of  her  minion  is  too  new ; 
She  hath  not  yet  forgot  him  :  some  more  time  4° 

Must  wear  the  print  of  his  remembrance  out, 
And  then  she  Js  yours. 

Queen.  You  are  most  bound  to  the  king, 

Who  lets  go  by  no  vantages  that  may 
Prefer  you  to  his  daughter.     Frame  yourself 
To  orderly  solicits,  and  be  friended 


ACT  IL     SCENE  III.  73 

With  aptness  of  the  season  ;  make  denials 

Increase  your  services;  so  seem  as  if 

You  were  inspir'd  to  do  those  duties  which 

You  tender  to  her;  that  you  in  all  obey  her, 

Save  when  command  to  your  dismission  tends,  sc 

And  therein  you  are  senseless. 

Cloten.  Senseless  !  not  so. 

Enter  a  Messenger. 

Messenger.  So  like  you,  sir,  ambassadors  from  Rome  ; 
The  one  is  Caius  Lucius. 

Cymbeline.  A  worthy  fellow, 

Albeit  he  comes  on  angry  purpose  now ; 
But  that  's  no  fault  of  his :  we  must  receive  him 
According  to  the  honour  of  his  sender; 
And  towards  himself,  his  goodness  forespent  on  us, 
We  must  extend  our  notice. — Our  dear  son, 
When  you  have  given  good  morning  to  your  mistress, 
Attend  the  queen  and  us;  we  shall  have  need  eo 

To  employ  you  towards  this  Roman. — Come,  our  queen. 

\Exeunt  all  but  Cloten. 

Cloten.  If  she  be  up,  I  '11  speak  with  her;  if  not, 
Let  her  lie  still  and  dream.  —  [  Knocks  ^\     By  your  leave, 

ho!— 

I  know  her  women  are  about  her;  what 
If  I  do  line  one  of  their  hands?     'T  is  gold 
Which  buys  admittance;  oft  it  doth;  yea,  and  makes 
Diana's  rangers  false  themselves,  yield  up 
Their  deer  to  the  stand  o'  the  stealer;  and  't  is  gold 
Which  makes  the  true  man  kill'd  and  saves  the  thief; 
Nay,  sometime  hangs  both  thief  and  true  man :  what  70 

Can  it  not  do  and  undo?     I  will  make 
One  of  her  women  lawyer  to  me,  for 
I  yet  not  understand  the  case  myself. — 
[Knocks.']     By  your  leave. 


74  CYMBELINE. 

Enter  a  Lady. 

Lady.  Who  's  there  that  knocks? 

Cloten.  A  gentleman. 

Lady.  No  more? 

Cloten.  Yes,  and  a  gentlewoman's  son. 

Lady.  That 's  more 

Than  some  whose  tailors  are  as  dear  as  yours 
Can  justly  boast  of.     What 's  your  lordship's  pleasure? 

Cloten.  Your  lady's  person;  is  she  ready? 

Lady.  Ay, 

To  keep  her  chamber. 

Cloten.  There  is  gold  for  you ;  so 

Sell  me  your  good  report. 

Lady.  How !  my  good  name  ?  or  to  report  of  you 
What  I  shall  think  is  good  ? — The  princess ! 

Enter  IMOGEN. 

Cloten.   Good  morrow,  fairest ;  sister,  your  sweet  hand. 

[Exit  Lady. 

Imogen.   Good  morrow,  sir.     You  lay  out  too  much  pains 
For  purchasing  but  trouble  ;  the  thanks  I  give 
Is  telling  you  that  I  am  poor  of  thanks 
And  scarce  can  spare  them. 

Cloten.  Still,  I  swear  I  love  you. 

Imogen.  If  you  but  said  so,  't  were  as  deep  with  me ; 
If  you  swear  still,  your  recompense  is  still  90 

That  I  regard  it  not. 

Cloten.  This  is  no  answer. 

Imogen.  But  that  you  shall  not  say  I  yield  being  silent, 
I  would  not  speak.     I  pray  you,  spare  me ;  faith, 
I  shall  unfold  equal  discourtesy 
To  your  best  kindness.     One  of  your  great  knowing 
Should  learn,  being  taught,  forbearance. 

Cloten.  To  leave  you  in  your  madness,  't  were  my  sin ; 
I  will  not. 


ACT  II.    SCENE  II L 


75 


Imogen.  Fools  are  not  mad  folks. 

Cloten.  Do  you  call  me  fool? 

Imogen.  As  I  am  mad,  I  do  :  10 

If  you  '11  be  patient,  I  '11  no  more  be  mad ; 
That  cures  us  both.     I  am  much  sorry,  sir, 
You  put  me  to  forget  a  lady's  manners, 
By  being  so  verbal :  and  learn  now,  for  all, 
That  I,  which  know  my  heart,  do  here  pronounce, 
By  the  very  truth  of  it,  I  care  riot  for  you, 
And  am  so  near  the  lack  of  charity — 
To  accuse  myself — I  hate  you  \  which  I  had  rather 
You  felt  than  make  't  my  boast. 

Cloten.  You  sin  against 

Obedience,  which  you  owe  your  father.     For  n 

The  contract  you  pretend  with  that  base  wretch, 
One  bred  of  alms  and  foster'd  with  cold  dishes, 
With  scraps  o'  the  court,  it  is  no  contract,  none ; 
And  though  it  be  allow'd  in  meaner  parties — 
Yet  who  than  he  more  mean? — to  knit  their  souls, 
On  whom  there  is  no  more  dependency 
But  brats  and  beggary,  in  self-figur'd  knot, 
Yet  you  are  curb'd  from  that  enlargement  by 
The  consequence  o'  the  crown,  and  must  not  soil 
The  precious  note  of  it  with  a  base  slave,  I2 

A  hilding  for  a  livery,  a  squire's  cloth, 
A  pantler,  not  so  eminent. 

Imogen.  Profane  fellow ! 

Wert  thou  the  son  of  Jupiter  and  no  more 
But  what  thou  art  besides,  thou  wert  too  base 
To  be  his  groom ;  thou  wert  dignified  enough, 
Even  to  the  point  of  envy,  if 't  were  made 
Comparative  for  your  virtues,  to  be  styl'd 
The  under-hangman  of  his  kingdom,  and  hated 
For  being  preferr'd  so  well. 

Cloten.  The  south-fog  rot  him ! 


76  CYMBELINE. 

Imogen.  He  never  can  meet  more  mischance  than  come 
To  be  but  nam'd  of  thee.     His  meanest  garment,  131 

That  ever  hath  but  clipp'd  his  body,  is  dearer 
In  my  respect  than  all  the  hairs  above  thee, 
Were  they  all  made  such  men. — How  now,  Pisanio! 

Enter  PISANIO. 

Cloten.  His  garment!     Now  the  devil — 

Imogen.  To  Dorothy  my  woman  hie  thee  presently — 

Cloten.  His  garment! 

Imogen.  I  am  sprited  with  a  fool, 

Frighted,  and  anger'd  worse. — Go  bid  my  woman 
Search  for  a  jewel  that  too  casually 

Hath  left  mine  arm  :  it  was  thy  master's ;  'shrew  me,         140 
If  I  would  lose  it  for  a  revenue 
Of  any  king's  in  Europe.     I  do  think 
I  saw  't  this  morning:  confident  I  am 
Last  night  't  was  on  mine  arm ;  I  kiss'd  it. 
I  hope  it  be  not  gone  to  tell  my  lord 
That  I  kiss  aught  but  he. 

Pisanio.  'T  will  not  be  lost. 

Imogen.  I  hope  so ;  go  and  search.  [Exit  Pisanio. 

Cloten.  You  have  abus'd  me. — 

His  meanest  garment! 

Imogen.  „  Ay,  I  said  so,  sir; 

If  you  will  make  't  an  action,  call  witness  to  't. 

Cloten.  I  will  inform  your  father. 

Imogen.  Your  mother  too;      150 

She  's  my  good  lady,  and  will  conceive,  I  hope, 
But  the  worst  of  me.     So,  I  leave  you,  sir, 
To  the  worst  of  discontent.  [Exit. 

Cloten.  I  '11  be  reveng'd ! 

His  meanest  garment!— Well.  [Exit 


ACT  II.     SCENE  IV. 


SCENE  IV.     Rome.     Philaritfs  House. 
Enter  POSTHUMUS  and  PHILARIO. 

Posthumus.  Fear  it  not,  sir;  I  would  I  were  so  sure 
To  win  the  king  as  I  am  bold  her  honour 
Will  remain  hers. 

Philario.  What  means  do  you  make  to  him? 

Posthumus.  Not  any,  but  abide  the  change  of  time, 
Quake  in  the  present  winter's  state  and  wish 
That  warmer  days  would  come.     In  these  fear'd  hopes, 
I  barely  gratify  your  love ;  they  failing, 
I  must  die  much  your  debtor. 

Philario.  Your  very  goodness  and  your  company 
O'erpays  all  I  can  do.     By  this,  your  king  10 

Hath  heard  of  great  Augustus:  Caius  Lucius 
Will  do  's  commission  throughly;  and  I  think 
He  '11  grant  the  tribute,  send  the  arrearages, 
Or  look  upon  our  Romans,  whose  remembrance 
Is  yet  fresh  in  their  grief. 

Posthumus.  I  do  believe, 

'  Statist  though  I  am  none,  nor  like  to  be, 
That  this  will  prove  a  war;  and  you  shall  hear 
The  legions  now  in  Gallia  sooner  landed 
'  In  our  not-fearing  Britain  than  have  tidings 
Of  any  penny  tribute  paid.     Our  countrymen  20 

Are  men  more  order'd  than  when  Julius  Caesar 
Smil'd  at  their  lack  of  skill,  but  found  their  courage 
Worthy  his  frowning  at;  their  discipline, 
Now  mingled  with  their  courages,  will  make  known 
To  their  approvers  they  are  people,  such 
That  mend  upon  the  world. 

Enter  IACHIMO. 
Philario.  See!  lachimo! 


7  8  CYMBELINE. 

Posthumus.  The  swiftest  harts  have  posted  you  by  land, 
And  winds  of  all  the  corners  kiss'd  your  sails, 
To  make  your  vessel  nimble. 

Philario.  Welcome,  sir. 

Posthumus.  I  hope  the  briefness  of  your  answer  made     30 
The  speediness  of  your  return. 

lachimo.  Your  lady 

Is  one  of  the  fairest  that  I  have  look'd  upon. 

Posthumus.  And  therewithal  the  best;  or  let  her  beauty 
Look  through  a  casement  to  allure  false  hearts 
And  be  false  with  them. 

lachimo.  Here  are  letters  for  you. 

Posthumus.  Their  tenour  good,  I  trust. 

lachimo.  'T  is  very  like. 

Philario.  Was  Caius  Lucius  in  the  Britain  court 
When  you  were  there? 

lachimo.  He  was  expected  then, 

But  not  approach'd. 

Posthumus.  All  is  well  yet. — 

Sparkles  this  stone  as  it  was  wont?  or  is  't  not  40 

Too  dull  for  your  good  wearing? 

lachimo.  If  I  had  lost  it, 

I  should  have  lost  the  worth  of  it  in  gold. 
I  '11  make  a  journey  twice  as  far,  to  enjoy 
A  second  night  of  such  sweet  shortness  which 
Was  mine  in  Britain,  for  the  ring  is  won. 

Posthumus.  The  stone  's  too  hard  to  come  by. 

lachimo.  Not  a  whit, 

Your  lady  being  so  easy. 

Posthumus.  Make  not,  sir, 

Your  loss  your  sport;  I  hope  you  know  that  we 
Must  not  continue  friends. 

lachimo.  Good  sir,  we  must, 

If  you  keep  covenant.     Had  I  not  brought  50 

The  knowledge  of  your  mistress  home,  I  grant 


ACT  II.     SCENE  IV.  79 

We  were  to  question  further:  but  1  now 
Profess  myself  the  winner  of  her  honour, 
Together  with  your  ring;  and  not  the  wronger 
Of  her  or  you,  having  proceeded  but 
By  both  your  wills. 

Posthumus.  If  you  can  make  \  apparent 

That  you  have  tasted  her  in  bed,  my  hand 
And  ring  is  yours;  if  not,  the  foul  opinion 
You  had  of  her  pure  honour  gains  or  loses 
Your  sword  or  mine,  or  masterless  leaves  both  60 

To  who  shall  find  them. 

lachimo.  Sir,  my  circumstances, 

Being  so  near  the  truth  as  I  will  make  them, 
Must  first  induce  you  to  believe;  whose  strength 
I  will  confirm  with  oath,  which,  I  doubt  not, 
You  '11  give  me  leave  to  spare,  when  you  shall  find 
You  need  it  not. 

Posthumus.         Proceed. 

lachimo.  First,  her  bedchamber,— 

Where,  I  confess,  I  slept  not,  but  profess 
Had  that  was  well  worth  watching — it  was  hang'd 
With  tapestry  of  silk  and  silver ;  the  story 
Proud  Cleopatra,  when  she  met  her  Roman,  70 

And  Cydnus  swell'd  above  the  banks,  or  for 
The  press  of  boats  or  pride :  a  piece  of  work  . 
So  bravely  done,  so  rich,  that  it  did  strive 
In  workmanship  and  value;  which  I  wonder'd 
Could  be  so  rarely  and  exactly  wrought, 
Since  the  true  life  on  't  was — 

Posthumus.  This  is  true; 

And  this  you  might  have  heard  of  here,  by  me, 
Or  by  some  other. 

lachimo.  More  particulars 

Must  justify  my  knowledge. 

Posthumus.  So  they  must, 

Or  do  your  honour  injury. 


80  CYMBELINE. 

lachimo.  The  chimney  80 

Is  south  the  chamber,  and  the  chimney-piece 
Chaste  Dian  bathing:  never  saw  I  figures 
So  likely  to  report  themselves  ;  the  cutter 
Was  as  another  nature,  dumb, — outwent  her, 
Motion  and  breath  left  out. 

Posthumus,  This  is  a  thing 

Which  you  might  from  relation  likewise  reap, 
Being,  as  it  is,  much  spoke  of. 

lachimo.  The  roof  o'  the  chamber 

With  golden  cherubins  is  fretted ;  her  andirons — 
I  had  forgot  them — were  two  winking  Cupids 
Of  silver,  each  on  one  foot  standing,  nicely  90 

Depending  on  their  brands. 

Posthumus.  This  is  her  honour! 

Let  it  be  granted  you  have  seen  all  this — and  praise 
Be  given  to  your  remembrance — the  description 
Of  what  is  in  her  chamber  nothing  saves 
The  wager  you  have  laid. 

lachimo.  Then,  if  you  can, 

[Showing  the  bracelet. 

Be  pale.     I  beg  but  leave  to  air  this  jewel;  see! — 
And  now  't  is  up  again :  it  must  be  married 
To  that  your  diamond;  I  '11  keep  them. 

Posthumus.  Jove ! — 

Once  more  let  me  behold  it  \  is  it  that 
Which  I  left  with  her? 

lachimo.  Sir — I  thank  her — that.  too 

She  stripp'd  it  from  her  arm ;  I  see  her  yet; 
Her  pretty  action  did  outsell  her  gift, 
And  yet  enrich'd  it  too.     She  gave  it  me,  and  said 
She  priz'd  it  once. 

Posthumus.  May  be  she  pluck'd  it  off 

To  send  it  me, 

lachimo.  She  writes  so  to  you,  doth  she? 


ACT  II.     SCENE  IV.  81 

Posthumus.  O,  no,  no,  no!  't  is  true.     Here,  take  this  too; 

\Gives  the  ring. 

It  is  a  basilisk  unto  mine  eye, 
Kills  me  to  look  on  't. — Let  there  be  no  honour 
Where  there  is  beauty ;  truth,  where  semblance  ;  love, 
Where  there  's  another  man  :  the  vows  of  women  no 

Of  no  more  bondage  be,  to  where  they  are  made, 
Than  they  are  to  their  virtues,  which  is  nothing. — 
O,  above  measure  false  ! 

Philario.  Have  patience,  sir, 

And  take  your  ring  again ;  't  is  not  yet  won. 
It  may  be  probable  she  lost  it;  or 
Who  knows  if  one  of  her  women,  being  corrupted, 
Hath  stol'n  it  from  her  ? 

Posthumus.  Very  true ; 

And  so,  I  hope,  he  came  by  't. — Back  my  ring. — 
Render  to  me  some  corporal  sign  about  her, 
More  evident  than  this  ;  for  this  was  stolen.  120 

lachimo.  By  Jupiter,  I  had  it  from  her  arm. 

Posthumus.  Hark  you,  he  swears  ;  by  Jupiter  he  swears. 
'T  is  true ; — nay,  keep  the  ring — 't  is  true.     I  am  sure 
She  would  not  lose  it ;  her  attendants  are 
All  sworn  and  honourable. — They  induc'd  to  steal  it ! 
And  by  a  stranger ! — No,  he  hath  enjoy'd  her. 
The  cognizance  of  her  incontinency 
Is  this ;  she  hath  bought  the  name  of  whore  thus  dearly. 
There,  take  thy  hire  ;  and  all  the  fiends  of  hell 
Divide  themselves  between  you  ! 

Philario.  Sir,  be  patient :  130 

This  is  not  strong  enough  to  be  believ'd 
Of  one  persuaded  well  of — 

lachimo.  If  you  seek 

For  further  satisfying,  under  her  breast — 
Worthy  the  pressing — lies  a  mole,  right  proud 
Of  that  most  delicate  lodging ;  by  my  life, 

F 


82  CYMBELINE. 

I  kiss'd  it,  and  it  gave  me  present  hunger 

To  feed  again,  though  full.     You  do  remember 

This  stain  upon  her  ? 

Posthumus.  Ay,  and  it  doth  confirm 

Another  stain,  as  big  as  hell  can  hold, 
Were  there  no  more  but  it. 

lachimo.  Will  you  hear  more  ?  140 

Posthumus.  Spare  your  arithmetic  :  never  count  the  turns  ; 
Once,  and  a  million  ! 

lachimo.  I  '11  be  sworn — 

Posthumus.  No  swearing. 

If  you  will  swear  you  have  not  done  't,  you  lie  ; 
And  I  will  kill  thee,  if  thou  dost  deny 
Thou  'st  made  me  cuckold. 

lachimo.  I  '11  deny  nothing. 

Posthumus.  O,  that  I  had  her  here,  to  tear  her  limbmeal ! 
I  will  go  there  and  do  't,  i'  the  court,  before 
Her  father.     I  '11  do  something —  [Exit. 

Philario.  Quite  besides 

The  government  of  patience  !     You  have  won. 
Let 's  follow  him,  and  pervert  the  present  wrath  150 

He  hath  against  himself. 

lachimo.  With  all  my  heart.  [Exeunt. 

SCENE  V.     Another  Room  in  Philarid's  House. 

Enter  POSTHUMUS. 

Posthumus.  Is  there  no  way  for  men  to  be  but  women 
Must  be  half-workers  ?     We  are  all  bastards  ; 
And  that  most  venerable  man  which  I 
Did  call  my  father,  was  I  know  not  where 
When  I  was  stamp'd ;  some  coiner  with  his  tools 
Made  me  a  counterfeit :  yet  my  mother  seem'd 
The  Dian  of  that  time  ;  so  doth  my  wife 
The  nonpareil  of  this.     O,  vengeance,  vengeance  ! 


ACT  II.     SCENE    V.  83 

Me  of  my  lawful  pleasure  she  restrained, 

And  pray'd  me  oft  forbearance ;  did  it  with  10 

A  pudency  so  rosy  the  sweet  view  on  't 

Might  well  have  warm'd  old  Saturn ;  that  I  thought  her 

As  chaste  as  unsunn'd  snow. — Could  I  find  out 

The  woman's  part  in  me !     For  there  's  no  motion 

That  tends  to  vice  in  man,  but  I  affirm 

It  is  the  woman's  part:  be  it  lying,  note  it, 

The  woman's  ;  flattering,  hers  ;  deceiving,  hers  ; 

Lust  and  rank  thoughts,  hers,  hers  ;  revenges,  hers  ; 

Ambitions,  covetings,  change  of  prides,  disdain, 

Nice  longing,  slanders,  mutability,  20 

All  faults  that  may  be  nam'd,  nay,  that  hell  knows, 

Why,  hers,  in  part  or  all, — but  rather,  all; 

For  even  to  vice 

They  are  not  constant,  but  are  changing  still 

One  vice,  but  of  a  minute  old,  for  one 

Not  half  so  old  as  that.     I  '11  write  against  them, 

Detest  them,  curse  them  :  yet 't  is  greater  skill 

In  a  true  hate,  to  pray  they  have  their  will; 

The  very  devils  cannot  plague  them  better.  {Exit. 


"'     'Vv  "  •      "-1---  * 

•  ;*,^;,.H-X^  AV7,     r*  •         "•  <f°' 
Well,  madam,  we  must  take  a  short  farewell  (iii.  4.  185). 


ACT   III. 

SCENE  I.     Britain.     A  Hall  in  Cymbeline's  Palace. 
Enter  in  state,  CYMBELINE,  QUEEN,  CLOTEN,  and  Lords  at  one 

door,  and  at  another  CAIUS  Lucius  and  Attendants. 
Cymbeline.  Now  say,  what  would  Augustus  Caesar  with  us  ? 
Lucius.  When  Julius  Caesar,  whose  remembrance  yet 
Lives  in  men's  eyes  and  will  to  ears  and  tongues 
Be  theme  and  hearing  ever,  was  in  this  Britain 
xAnd  conquer'd  it,  Cassibelan,  thine  uncle, — 
Famous  in  Caesar's  praises,  no  whit  less 
Than  in  his  feats  deserving  it, — for  him 
And  his  succession  granted  Rome  a  tribute, 


ACT  III.     SCENE  I.  85 

Yearly  three  thousand  pounds,  which  by  thee  lately 
Is  left  untender'd. 

Queen.  And,  to  kill  the  marvel,  JQ 

Shall  be  so  ever. 

Cloten.  There  be  many  Caesars 

j    Ere  such  another  Julius.     Britain  is 

A  world  by  itself,  and  we  will  nothing  pay 
(     For  wearing  our  own  noses. 

Queen.  That  opportunity 

Which  then  they  had  to  take  from  's,  to  resume 
We  have  again. — Remember,  sir,  my  liege, 
The  kings  your  ancestors,  together  with 
The  natural  bravery  of  your  isle,  which  stands 
As  Neptune's  park,  ribbed  and  paled  in 
With  rocks  unscalable  and  roaring  waters,  20 

With  sands  that  will  not  bear  your  enemies'  boats, 
But  suck  them  up  to  the  topmast.     A  kind  of  conquest 
Caesar  made  here,  but  made  not  here  his  brag 
Of  '  Came  and  saw  and  overcame.'     With  shame — 
The  first  that  ever  touch'd  him — he  was  carried 
From  off  our  coast,  twice  beaten  ;  and  his  shipping — 
Poor  ignorant  baubles ! — on  our  terrible  seas, 
Like  egg-shells  mov'd  upon  their  surges,  crack'd 
As  easily  'gainst  our  rocks  :  for  joy  whereof 
The  fam'd  Cassibelan,  who  was  once  at  point —  3o 

O  giglot  fortune  ! — to  master  Caesar's  sword, 
Made  Lud's  town  with  rejoicing  fires  bright 
And  Britons  strut  with  courage. 

Cloten.  Come,  there  's  no  more  tribute  to  be  paid.     Our 
^     kingdom  is  stronger  than  it  was  at  that  time ;  and,  as  I  said, 
there  is  no  moe  such  Caesars:  other  of  them  may  have  crooked 
noses,  but  to  owe  such  straight  arms,  none. 

Cymbeline.  Son,  let  your  mother  end.  38 

Cloten.  We  have  yet  many  among  us  can  gripe  as  hard  as 
Cassibelan.     I  do  not  say  I  am  one ;  but  I  have  a  hand. — 


86  CYMBELINE. 

Why  tribute  ?  why  should  we  pay  tribute  ?  If  Caesar  can 
hide  the  sun  from  us  with  a  blanket,  or  put  the  moon  in  his 
pocket,  we  will  pay  him  tribute  for  light ;  else,  sir,  no  more 
tribute,  pray  you  now. 

Cymbeline.  You  must  know, 
Till  the  injurious  Romans  did  extort 
This  tribute  from  us,  we  were  free.     Caesar's  ambition, 
Which  swell'd  so  much  that  it  did  almost  stretch 
The  sides  o'  the  world,  against  all  colour  here 
Did  put  the  yoke  upon  's;  which  to  shake  off  50 

Becomes  a  warlike  people,  whom  we  reckon 
Ourselves  to  be. 

Cloten.  We  do. 

Cymbeline.  Say,  then,  to  Caesar, 

Our  ancestor  was  that  Mulmutius  which 
Ordain'd  our  laws,  whose  use  the  sword  of  Caesar 
Hath  too  much  mangled;  whose  repair  and  franchise 
Shall,  by  the  power  we  hold,  be  our  good  deed, 
Though  Rome  be  therefore  angry.     Mulmutius  made  our 

laws, 

Who  was  the  first  of  Britain  which  did  put 
His  brows  within  a  golden  crown  and  call'd 
Himself  a  king. 

Lucius.  I  am  sorry,  Cymbeline,  60 

That  I  am  to  pronounce  Augustus  Caesar — 
Caesar,  that  hath  moe  kings  his  servants  than 
Thyself  domestic  officers — thine  enemy: 
Receive  it  from  me,  then :  war  and  confusion 
In  Caesar's  name  pronounce  I  'gainst  thee ;  look 
For  fury  not  to  be  resisted.     Thus  defied, 
I  thank  thee  for  myself. 

Cymbeline.  Thou  art  welcome,  Caius. 

Thy  Caesar  knighted  me  \  my  youth  I  spent 
Much  under  him ;  of  him  I  gather'd  honour ; 
Which  he  to  seek  of  me  again,  perforce,  70 


ACT  III.     SCENE  II.  87 

Behoves  me  keep  at  utterance.     I  am  perfect 
That  the  Pannonians  and  Dalmatians  for 
Their  liberties  are  now  in  arms ;  a  precedent 
Which  rjot  to  read  would  show  the  Britons  cold  : 
So  Caesar  shall  not  find  them. 

Lucius.  Let  proof  speak. 

Cloten.  His  majesty  bids  you  welcome.  Make  pastime 
with  us  a  day  or  two,  or  longer.  If  you  seek  us  afterwards 
in  other  terms,  you  shall  find  us  in  our  salt-water  girdle:  if 
you  beat  us  out  of  it,  it  is  yours.  If  you  fall  in  the  advent- 
ure, our  crows  shall  fare  the  better  for  you ;  and  there  's  an 
end.  81 

Lucius.  So,  sir. 

Cymbeline.  I  know  your  master's  pleasure  and  he  mine; 
All  the  remain  is,  Welcome!  \Exeunt. 

SCENE  II.     Another  Room  in  the  Palace. 

Enter  PISANIO,  with  a  letter. 

Pisanio.  How !  of  adultery  ?     Wherefore  write  you  not 
What  monster  's  her  accuser  ! — Leonatus ! 
O  master !  what  a  strange  infection 
Is  fall'n  into  thy  ear !     What  false  Italian, 
As  poisonous-tongued  as  handed,  hath  prevailed 
On  thy  too  ready  hearing? — Disloyal!     No; 
She  's  punish'd  for  her  truth,  and  undergoes, 
More  goddess-like  than  wife-like,  such  assaults 
As  would  take  in  some  virtue. — O  my  master! 
Thy  mind  to  her  is  now  as  low  as  were  10 

Thy  fortunes. — How!  that  I  should  murther  her? 
Upon  the  love  and  truth  and  vows  which  I 
Have  made  to  thy  command?     I,  her?  her  blood? 
If  it  be  so  to  do  good  service,  never 
Let  me  be  counted  serviceable.     How  look  I, 
That  I  should  seem  to  lack  humanity 


88  CYMBELINE. 

So   much  as    this  fact   comes  to?     [Reading]  ' Do  V:  the 

letter 

That  I  have  sent  her,  by  her  own  command 
Shall  give  thee  opportunity. ' — O  d  am  n ' d  p ape r ! 
Black  as  the  ink  that 's  on  thee  !     Senseless  bauble,  20 

Art  thou  a  fedary  for  this  act,  and  look'st 
So  virgin-like  without? — Lo,  here  she  comes. 
I  am  ignorant  in  what  I  am  commanded. 

Enter  IMOGEN. 

Imogen.  How  now,  Pisanio  ! 

Pisanio.  Madam,  here  is  a  letter  from  my  lord. 

Imogen.  Who?  thy  lord?  that  is  my  lord,  Leonatus! 
O,  learn'd  indeed  were  that  astronomer 
That  knew  the  stars  as  I  his  characters; 
He  'd  lay  the  future  open. — You  good  gods, 
Let  what  is  here  contained  relish  of  love,  30 

Of  my  lord's  health,  of  his  content,  yet  not 
That  we  two  are  asunder, — let  that  grieve  him  : 
Some  griefs  are  med'cinable ;  that  is  one  of  them, 
For  it  doth  physic  love  : — of  his  content, 
All  but  in  that! — Good  wax,  thy  leave. — Blest  be 
You  bees  that  make  these  locks  of  counsel !     Lovers 
And  men  in  dangerous  bonds  pray  not  alike; 
Though  forfeiters  you  cast  in  prison,  yet 
You  clasp  young  Cupid's  tables. — Good  news,  gods!  39 

[Reads]  '  Justice,  and  your  father's  wrath,  should  he  take 
me  in  his  dominion,  could  not  be  so  cruel  to  me,  as  you,  O  the 
dearest  of  creatures,  would  even  renew  me  with  your  eyes.  Take 
notice  that  I  am  in  Cambria,  at  Milford-Haven  ;  what  your 
own  love  will  out  of  this  advise  you,  follow.  So  he  wishes  you 
all  happiness,  that  remains  loyal  to  his  vow,  and  your,  increasing 
in  love,  LEONATUS  POSTHUMUS/ 

O,  for  a  horse  with  wings ! — Hearst  thou,  Pisanio? 
He  is  at  Milford-Haven;  read,  and  tell  me 


ACT  III.     SCENE  II.  89 

How  far  't  is  thither.     If  one  of  mean  affairs 

May  plod  it  in  a  week,  why  may  not  I  so 

Glide  thither  in  a  day?     Then, true  Pisanio, — 

Who  long'st,  like  me,  to  see  thy  lord ;  who  long'st,— 

O,  let  me  bate ! — but  not  like  me, — yet  long'st, 

But  in  a  fainter  kind, — O,  not  like  me, 

For  mine  Js  beyond  beyond! — say,  and  speak  thick, — 

Love's  counsellor  should  fill  the  bores  of  hearing, 

To  the  smothering  of  the  sense — how  far  it  is 

To  this  same  blessed  Milford :  and  by  the  way 

Tell  me  how  Wales  was  made  so  happy  as 

To  inherit  such  a  haven;  but  first  of  all,  60 

How  we  may  steal  from  hence,  and  for  the  gap 

That  we  shall  make  in  time,  from  our  hence-going 

And  our  return,  to  excuse, — but  first,  how  get  hence. 

Why  should  excuse  be  born  or  ere  begot? 

We  '11  talk  of  that  hereafter.     Prithee,  speak, 

How  many  score  of  miles  may  we  well  ride 

'Twixt  hour  and  hour? 

Pisanio.  One  score  'twixt  sun  and  sun, 

Madam,  's  enough  for  you, — and  too  much  too. 

Imogen.  Why,  one  that  rode  to  's  execution,  man, 
Could  never  go  so  slow;  I  have  heard  of  riding  wagers,      7° 
Where  horses  have  been  nimbler  than  the  sands 
That  run  i'  the  clock's  behalf. — But  this  is  foolery. — 
Go  bid  my  woman  feign  a  sickness,  say 
She  '11  home  to  her  father;  and  provide  me  presently 
A  riding-suit,  no  costlier  than  would  fit 
A  franklin's  housewife. 

Pisanio.  Madam,  you  're  best  consider. 

Imogen.  I  see  before  me,  man ;  nor  here,  nor  here, 
Nor  what  ensues,  but  have  a  fog  in  them, 
That  I  cannot  look  through.     Away,  I  prithee; 
Do  as  I  bid  thee.     There  's  no  more  to  say;  80 

Accessible  is  none  but  Milford  way.  [Exeunt. 


90  CYMBELINE. 


SCENE  III.      Wales:  a  Mountainous  Country  with  a  Cave. 
Enter,  from  the  cave,  BELARIUS,  GUIDERIUS,  and  ARVIRAGUS. 

Belarius.  A  goodly  day  not  to  keep  house,  with  such 
Whose  roof 's  as  low  as  ours !     Stoop,  boys ;  this  gate 
Instructs  you  how  to  adore  the  heavens,  and  bows  you 
To  a  morning's  holy  office:  the  gates  of  monarchs 
Are  arch'd  so  high  that  giants  may  jet  through 
And  keep  their  impious  turbans  on,  without 
Good  morrow  to  the  sun. — Hail,  thou  fair  heaven  ! 
We  house  i'  the  rock,  yet  use  thee  not  so  hardly 
As  prouder  livers  do. 

Guiderius.  Hail,  heaven ! 

Arviragus.  Hail,  heaven ! 

Belarius.    Now  for   our    mountain   sport.      Up  to   yond 

hill! 

Your  legs  are  young ;  I  '11  tread  these  flats.     Consider, 
When  you  above  perceive  me  like  a  crow, 
That  it  is  place  which  lessens  and  sets  off; 
And  you  may  then  revolve  what  tales  I  have  told  you 
Of  courts,  of  princes,  of  the  tricks  in  war. 
This  service  is  not  service,  so  being  done, 
But  being  so  allow'd:  to  apprehend  thus, 
Draws  us  a  profit  from  all  things  we  see ; 
And  often,  to  our  comfort,  shall  we  find 
The  sharded  beetle  in  a  safer  hold  20 

Than  is  the  full-wing'd  eagle.     O,  this  life 
Is  nobler  than  attending  for  a  check, 
Richer  than  doing  nothing  for  a  bribe, 
Prouder  than  rustling  in  unpaid-for  silk ; 
Such  gain  the  cap  of  him  who  makes  'em  fine, 
Yet  keeps  his  book  uncross'd:  no  life  to  ours. 

Guiderius.  Out  of  your  proof  you  speak;  we,  poor  un- 
fledg'd, 


ACT  III.     SCENE  ///:  91 

Have  never  wing'd  from  view  o'  the  nest,  nor  know  not 

What  air  's  from  home.     Haply  this  life  is  best, 

If  quiet  life  be  best ;  sweeter  to  you  30 

That  have  a  sharper  known,  well  corresponding 

With  your  stiff  age:  but  unto  us  it  is 

A  cell  of  ignorance,  travelling  a-bed, 

A  prison  for  a  debtor,  that  not  dares 

To  stride  a  limit. 

Arviragus.  What  should  we  speak  of 

When  we  are  old  as  you?  when  we  shall  hear 
The  rain  and  wind  beat  dark  December,  how 
In  this  our  pinching  cave  shall  we  discourse 
The  freezing  hours  away?     Wre  have  seen  nothing; 
We  are  beastly,  subtle  as  the  fox  for  prey,  40 

Like  warlike  as  the  wolf  for  what  we  eat; 
Our  valour  is  to  chase  what  flies ;  our  cage 
We  make  a  quire,  as  doth  the  prison*  d  bird, 
And  sing  our  bondage  freely. 

Belarius.  How  you  speak ! 

Did  you  but  know  the  city's  usuries 
And  felt  them  knowingly;  the  art  o'  the  court, 
As  hard  to  leave  as  keep;  whose  top  to  climb 
Is  certain  falling,  or  so  slippery  that 
The  fear  's  as  bad  as  falling;  the  toil  o'  the  war, 
A  pain  that  only  seems  to  seek  out  danger  so 

r  the  name  of  fame  and  honour;  which  dies  i'  the  search, 
And  hath  as  oft  a  slanderous  epitaph 
As  record  of  fair  act ;  nay,  many  times, 
Doth  ill  deserve  by  doing  well ;  what 's  worse, 
Must  curtsy  at  the  censure.  —  O  boys,  this  story 
The  world  may  read  in  me;  my  body  's  mark'd 
With  Roman  swords,  and  my  report  was  once 
First  with  the  best  of  note.     Cymbeline  lov'd  me, 
And  when  a  soldier  was  the  theme,  my  name 
Was  not  far  off:  then  was  I  as  a  tree  60 


9  2  CYMBELINE. 

Whose  boughs  did  bend  with  fruit;  but  in  one  night, 
A  storm  or  robbery,  call  it  what  you  will, 
Shook  down  my  mellow  hangings,  nay,  my  leaves, 
And  left  me  bare  to  weather. 

Guiderius.  Uncertain  favour! 

Belarius.  My  fault  being  nothing — as  I  have  told  you  oft — 
But  that  two  villains,  whose  false  oaths  prevail'd 
Before  my  perfect  honour,  swore  to  Cymbeline 
I  was  confederate  with  the  Romans:  so 
Follow'd  my  banishment,  and  this  twenty  years 
This  rock  and  these  demesnes  have  been  my  world ;  70 

Where  I  have  liv'd  at  honest  freedom,  paid 
More  pious  debts  to  heaven  than  in  all 
The  fore-end  of  my  time. — But  up  to  the  mountains! 
This  is  not  hunters'  language. — He  that  strikes 
The  venison  first  shall  be  the  lord  o'  the  feast; 
To  him  the  other  two  shall  minister, 
And  we  will  fear  no  poison,  which  attends 
In  place  of  greater  state.     I  '11  meet  you  in  the  valleys. — 

\Exeunt  Guiderius  and  Arviragus. 
How  hard  it  is  to  hide  the  sparks  of  nature! 
These  boys  know  little  they  are  sons  to  the  king;  80 

Nor  Cymbeline  dreams  that  they  are  alive. 
They  think   they  are    mine;  and  though   train'd   up   thus 

meanly 

I'  the  cave  wherein  they  bow,  their  thoughts  do  hit 
The  roofs  of  palaces,  and  nature  prompts  them 
In  simple  and  low  things  to  prince  it  much 
Beyond  the  trick  of  others.     This  Polydore, 
The  heir  of  Cymbeline  and  Britain,  who 
The  king  his  father  call'd  Guiderius, — Jove ! 
When  on  my  three-foot  stool  I  sit  and  tell 
The  warlike  feats  I  have  done,  his  spirits  fly  out  90 

Into  my  story,  say  'Thus  mine  enemy  fell, 
And  thus  I  set  my  foot  on  's  neck;'  even  then 


ACT  III.     SCENE  IV. 


93 


The  princely  blood  flows  in  his  cheek,  he  sweats, 

Strains  his  young  nerves,  and  puts  himself  in  posture 

That  acts  my  words.     The  younger  brother,  Cadwal, 

Once  Arviragus,  in  as  like  a  figure, 

Strikes  life  into  my  speech  and  shows  much  more 

His  own  conceiving. — Hark,  the  game  is  rous'd! — 

O  Cymbeline!  heaven  and  my  conscience  knows 

Thou  didst  unjustly  banish  me;  whereon,  too 

At  three  and  two  years  old,  I  stole  these  babes. 

Thinking  to  bar  thee  of  succession,  as 

Thou  reft'st  me  of  my  lands. — Euriphile, 

Thou  wast  their  nurse;  they  took  thee  for  their  mother, 

And  every  day  do  honour  to  her  grave: 

Myself,  Belarius,  that  am  Morgan  call'd, 

They  take  for  natural  father. — The  game  is  up.  [Exif. 

SCENE  IV.     Near  Milford- Haven. 

Enter  PISANIO  and  IMOGEN. 
Imogen.  Thou  told'st  me,  when  we  came  from  horse,  the 

place 

Was  near  at  hand. — Ne'er  long'd  my  mother  so 
To  see  me  first,  as  I  have  now. — Pisanio!  man! 
Where  is  Posthumus?     What  is  in  thy  mind, 
That  makes  thee  stare  thus?     Wherefore  breaks  that  sigh 
From  the  inward  of  thee?     One,  but  painted  thus, 
Would  be  interpreted  a  thing  perplex'd 
Beyond  self-explication  ;  put  thyself 
Into  a  haviour  of  less  fear,  ere  wildness 
Vanquish  my  staider  senses.     What  's  the  matter?  K> 

Why  tender'st  thou  that  paper  to  me,  with 
A  look  untender?     If  't  be  summer  news, 
Smile  to  't  before;  if  winterly,  thou  need'st 
But  keep  that  countenance  still. — My  husband's  hand! 
That  drug-damn'd  Italy  hath  out-craftied  him, 


94  CYMBELINE. 

And  he  's  at  some  hard  point. — Speak,  man;  thy  tongue 
May  take  off  some  extremity,  which  to  read 
Would  be  even  mortal  to  me. 

Pisanio.  Please  you,  read ; 

And  you  shall  find  me,  wretched  man,  a  thing 
The  most  disdain'd  of  fortune.  20 

Imogen.  [Reads]  '  Thy  mistress,  Pisanio,  hath  played  the 
strumpet  in  my  bed;  the  testimonies  whereof  lie  bleeding  in  me. 
I  speak  not  out  of  weak  surmises,  but  from  proof  as  strong  as 
my  grief  and  as  certain  as  I  expect  my  revenge.  That  part 
thou,  Pisanio,  must  act  for  me,  if  thy  faith  be  not  tainted  with 
the  breach  of  hers.  Let  thine  own  hands  take  away  her  life; 
I  shall  give  thee  opportunity  at  Milf  or d- Haven.  She  hath  my 
letter  for  the  purpose;  where,  if  thou  fear  to  strike  and  to  make 
me  certain  it  is  done,  thou  art  the  pander  to  her  dishonour  and 
equally  to  me  disloyal?  3° 

Pisanio.  What  shall  I  need  to  draw  my  sword  ?  the  paper 
Hath  cut  her  throat  already. — No,  't  is  slander, 
Whose  edge  is  sharper  than  the  sword,  whose  tongue 
Outvenoms  all  the  worms  of  Nile,  whose  breath 
Rides  on  the  posting  winds  and  doth  belie 
All  corners  of  the  world  ;  kings,  queens,  and  states, 
Maids,  matrons,  nay,  the  secrets  of  the  grave 
This  viperous  slander  enters. — What  cheer,  madam? 

Imogen.  False  to  his  bed!     What  is  it  to  be  false? 
To  lie  in  watch  there  and  to  think  on  him?  40 

To  weep  'twixt  clock  and  clock?  if  sleep  charge  nature, 
To  break  it  with  a  fearful  dream  of  him 
And  cry  myself  awake?  that 's  false  to  's  bed,  is  it? 

Pisanio.  Alas,  good  lady! 

Imogen.  I  false!     Thy  conscience  witness!— lachimo, 
Thou  didst  accuse  him  of  incontinency ; 
Thou  then  look'dst  like  a  villain,  now  methinks 
Thy  favour  's  good  enough. — Some  jay  of  Italy 
Whose  mother  was  her  painting,  hath  betray'd  him. 


ACT  III.     SCENE  IV. 


95 


Poor  I  am  stale,  a  garment  out  of  fashion  ;  50 

And,  for  I  am  richer  than  to  hang  by  the  walls, 

I  must  be  ripp'd: — to  pieces  with  me! — O, 

Men's  vows  are  women's  traitors !     All  good  seeming, 

By  thy  revolt,  O  husband,  shall  be  thought 

Put  on  for  villany ;  not  born  where  't  grows, 

But  worn  a  bait  for  ladies. 

Pisanio.  Good  madam,  hear  me. 

Imogen.  True  honest  men  being  heard,  like  false  y£neas, 
Were  in  his  time  thought  false,  and  Sinon's  weeping 
Did  scandal  many  a  holy  tear,  took  pity 
From  most  true  wretchedness :  so  thou,  Posthumus,  60 

Wilt  lay  the  leaven  on  all  proper  men ; 
Goodly  and  gallant  shall  be  false  and  perjur'd 
From  thy  great  fail. — Come,  fellow,  be  thou  honest ; 
Do  thou  thy  master's  bidding.     When  thou  see'st  him, 
A  little  witness  my  obedience  :  look  ! 
I  draw  the  sword  myself;  take  it,  and  hit 
The  innocent  mansion  of  my  love,  my  heart. 
Fear  not  •  't  is  empty  of  all  things  but  grief: 
Thy  master  is  not  there,  who  was  indeed 
The  riches  of  it.     Do  his  bidding ;  strike  !  70 

Thou  mayst  be  valiant  in  a  better  cause, 
But  now  thou  seem'st  a  coward. 

Pisanio.  Hence,  vile  instrument ! 

Thou  shalt  not  damn  my  hand. 

Imogen.  Why,  I  must  die ; 

And  if  I  do  not  by  thy  hand,  thou  art 
No  servant  of  thy  master's.     Against  self-slaughter 
There  is  a  prohibition  so  divine 

That  cravens  my  weak  hand.     Come,  here  's  my  heart. 
Something  's  afore  't. — Soft,  soft!  we  '11  no  defence; 
Obedient  as  the  scabbard. — What  is  here? 
The  scriptures  of  the  loyal  Leonatus,  80 

All  turn'd  to'  heresy  ?     Away,  away, 


96  CYMBELINE. 

Corrupters  of  my  faith  !  you  shall  no  more 

Be  stomachers  to  my  heart.     Thus  may  poor  fools 

Believe  false  teachers ;  though  those  that  are  betray'd 

Do  feel  the  treason  sharply,  yet  the  traitor 

Stands  in  worse  case  of  woe. 

And  thou,  Posthumus,  thou  that  didst  set  up 

My  disobedience  'gainst  the  king  my  father, 

And  make  me  put  into  contempt  the  suits 

Of  princely  fellows,  shalt  hereafter  find  oo 

It  is  no  act  of  common  passage,  but 

A  strain  of  rareness;  and  I  grieve  myself 

To  think,  when  thou  shalt  be  disedg'd  by  her 

That  now  thou  tir'st  on,  how  thy  memory 

Will  then  be  pang'd  by  me. — Prithee,  dispatch : 

The  lamb  entreats  the  butcher;  where  's  thy  knife? 

Thou  art  too  slow  to  do  thy  master's  bidding, 

When  I  desire  it  too. 

Pisanio.  O  gracious  lady, 

Since  I  receiv'd  command  to  do  this  business 
I  have  not  slept  one  wink, 

Imogen.  Do  't,  and  to  bed  then.  100 

Pisanio.  I  '11  wake  mine  eye-balls  blind  first. 

Imogen.  Wherefore  then 

Didst  undertake  it  ?     Why  hast  thou  abus'd 
So  many  miles  with  a  pretence  ?  this  place  ? 
Mine  action  and  thine  own?  our  horses'  labour? 
The  time  inviting  thee?  the  perturb'd  court, 
For  my  being  absent?  whereunto  I  never 
Purpose  return.     Why  hast  thou  gone  so  far, 
To  be  unbent  when  thou  hast  ta'en  thy  stand, 
The  elected  deer  before  thee  ? 

Pisanio.  But  to  win  time 

To  lose  so  bad  employment;  in  the  which  no 

I  have  consider'd  of  a  course.     Good  lady, 
Hear  me  with  patience. 


ACT  III.     SCENE  IV.  97 

Imogen.  Talk  thy  tongue  weary;  speak  : 

I  have  heard  I  am  a  strumpet,  and  mine  ear, 
Therein  false  struck,  can  take  no  greater  wound, 
Nor  tent  to  bottom  that.     But  speak. 

Pisanio.  Then,  madam, 

I  thought  you  would  not  back  again. 

Imogen.  Most  like, 

Bringing  me  here  to  kill  me. 

Pisanio.  Not  so,  neither; 

But  if  I  were  as  wise  as  honest,  then 
My  purpose  would  prove  well.     It  cannot  be 
But  that  my  master  is  abus'd;  120 

Some  villain,  ay,  and  singular  in  his  art, 
Hath  done  you  both  this  cursed  injury. 

Imogen.  Some  Roman  courtesan. 

Pisanio.  No,  on  my  life. 

I  '11  give  but  notice  you  are  dead  and  send  him 
Some  bloody  sign  of  it;  for  't  is  commanded 
I  should  do  so  :  you  shall  be  miss'd  at  court, 
And  that  will  well  confirm  it. 

Imogen.  Why,  good  fellow, 

What  shall  I  do  the  while  ?  where  bide  ?  how  live  ? 
Or  in  my  life  what  comfort,  when  I  am 
Dead  to  my  husband  ? 

Pisanio.  If  you  '11  back  to  the  court —         130 

Imogen.  No  court,  no  father;  nor  no  more  ado 
With  that  harsh,  noble,  simple  nothing, 
That  Cloten,  whose  love-suit  hath  been  to  me 
As  fearful  as  a  siege. 

Pisanio.  If  not  at  court, 

Then  not  in  Britain  must  you  bide. 

Imogen.  Where  then  ? 

Hath  Britain  all  the  sun  that  shines  ?     Day,  night, 
Are  they  not  but  in  Britain  ?     I'  the  world's  volume 
Our  Britain  seems  as  of  it,  but  not  in  't; 

G 


98  CYMBELINE. 

In  a  great  pool  a  swan's  nest :  prithee,  think 
There  's  livers  out  of  Britain. 

Pisanio.  I  am  most  glad  140 

You  think  of  other  place.     The  ambassador, 
Lucius  the  Roman,  comes  to  Milford-Haven 
To-morrow  :  now,  if  you  could  wear  a  mind 
Dark  as  your  fortune  is,  and  but  disguise 
That  which,  to  appear  itself,  must  not  yet  be 
But  by  self-danger,  you  should  tread  a  course 
Pretty  and  full  of  view ;  yea,  haply,  near 
The  residence  of  Posthumus, — so  nigh  at  least 
That  though  his  actions  were  not  visible,  yet 
Report  should  render  him  hourly  to  your  ear  J5o 

As  truly  as  he  moves. 

Imogen.  O,  for  such  means  ! 

Though  peril  to  my  modesty,  not  death  on  't, 
I  would  adventure. 

Pisanio.  Well,  then,  here  's  the  point : 

You  must  forget  to  be  a  woman,  change 
Command  into  obedience,  fear  and  niceness — 
The  handmaids  of  all  women,  or,  more  truly, 
Woman  it  pretty  self — into  a  waggish  courage, 
Ready  in  gibes,  quick-answer'd,  saucy,  and 
As  quarrellous  as  the  weasel ;  nay,  you  must 
Forget  that  rarest  treasure  of  your  cheek,  160 

Exposing  it — but,  O,  the  harder  heart ! 
Alack,  no  remedy  ! — to  the  greedy  touch 
Of  common-kissing  Titan,  and  forget 
Your  laboursome  and  dainty  trims,  wherein 
You  made  great  Juno  angry. 

Imogen.  Nay,  be  brief; 

I  see  into  thy  end,  and  am  almost 
A  man  already. 

Pisanio.  First,  make  yourself  but  like  one. 

Fore-thinking  this,  I  have  already  fit — 


ACT  III.     SCENE  V.  99 

'T  is  in  my  cloak-bag — doublet,  hat,  hose,  all 

That  answer  to  them.     Would  you  in  their  serving,  170 

And  with  what  imitation  you  can  borrow 

From  youth  of  such  a  season,  fore  noble  Lucius 

Present  yourself,  desire  his  service,  tell  him 

Wherein  you  're  happy, — which  you  '11  make  him  know, 

If  that  his  head  have  ear  in  music, — doubtless 

With  joy  he  will  embrace  you,  for  he  's  honourable, 

And  doubling  that,  most  holy.     Your  means  abroad, 

You  have  me,  rich;  and  I  will  never  fail 

Beginning  nor  supplyment. 

Imogen.  Thou  art  all  the  comfort 

The  gods  will  diet  me  with.     Prithee,  away  :  i8c 

There  's  more  to  be  considered ;  but  we  '11  even 
All  that  good  time  will  give  us.     This  attempt 
I  am  soldier  to,  and  will  abide  it  with 
A  prince's  courage.     Away,  I  prithee. 

Pisanio.  Well,  madam,  we  must  take  a  short  farewell, 
Lest,  being  miss'd,  I  be  suspected  of 
Your  carriage  from  the  court.     My  noble  mistress, 
Here  is  a  box ;  I  had  it  from  the  queen : 
What  's  in  't  is  precious ;  if  you  are  sick  at  sea, 
Or  stomach-qualm'd  at  land,  a  dram  of  this  190 

Will  drive  away  distemper. — To  some  shade, 
And  fit  you  to  your  manhood. — May  the  gods 
Direct  you  to  the  best ! 

Imogen.  Amen  !  I  thank  thee.  \Exeunt,  severally. 

SCENE  V.     A  Room  in  Cymbeline's  Palace. 

Enter  CYMBELINE,  QUEEN,  CLOTEN,  Lucius,  Lords,  and  At- 
tendants. 

Cymbeline.  Thus  far;  and  so  farewell. 

Lucius.  Thanks,  royal  sir. 

My  emperor  hath  wrote,  I  must  from  hence; 


I00  CYMBELINE. 

And  am  right  sorry  that  I  must  report  ye 
My  master's  enemy. 

Cymbeline.  Our  subjects,  sir, 

Will  not  endure  his  yoke;  and  for  ourself 
To  show  less  sovereignty  than  they,  must  needs 
Appear  unkinglike. 

Lucius.  So,  sir.     I  desire  of  you 

A  conduct  over-land  to  Milford-Haven. — 
Madam,  all  joy  befall  your  grace  ! 

Queen.  And  you  ! 

Cymbeline.  My  lords,  you  are  appointed  for  that  office ;    10 
The  due  of  honour  in  no  point  omit. — 
So  farewell,  noble  Lucius. 

Lucius.  Your  hand,  my  lord. 

Cloten.  Receive  it  friendly ;  but  from  this  time  forth 
I  wear  it  as  your  enemy. 

Lucius.  Sir,  the  event 

Is  yet  to  name  the  winner;  fare  you  well. 

Cymbeline.  Leave  not  the  worthy  Lucius,  good  my  lords, 
Till  he  have  crossed  the  Severn. — Happiness ! 

^Exeunt  Lucius  and  Lords. 

Queen.  He  goes  hence  frowning ;  but  it  honours  us 
That  we  have  given  him  cause. 

Cloten.  T  is  all  the  better ; 

Your  valiant  Britons  have  their  wishes  in  it.  20 

Cymbeline.  Lucius  hath  wrote  already  to  the  emperor 
How  it  goes  here.     It  fits  us  therefore  ripely 
Our  chariots  and  our  horsemen  be  in  readiness; 
The  powers  that  he  already  hath  in  Gallia 
Will  soon  be  drawn  to  head,  from  whence  he  moves 
His  war  for  Britain. 

Queen.  'T  is  not  sleepy  business, 

But  must  be  look'd  to  speedily  and  strongly. 

Cymbeline.  Our  expectation  that  it  would  be  thus 
Hath  made  us  forward.     But,  my  gentle  queen, 


ACT  III.     SCENE    V,  IOI 

Where  is  our  daughter  ?     She  hath  not  appear'd  30 

Before  the  Roman,  nor  to  us  hath  tender'd 

The  duty  of  the  day.     She  looks  us  like 

A  thing  more  made  of  malice  than  of  duty; 

We  have  noted  it. — Call  her  before  us,  for 

We  have  been  too  slight  in  sufferance.     \_Exit  an  Attendant. 

Queen.  Royal  sir, 

Since  the  exile  of  Posthumus,  most  retir'd 
Hath  her  life  been ;  the  cure  whereof,  my  lord, 
7T  is  time  must  do.     Beseech  your  majesty, 
Forbear  sharp  speeches  to  her ;  she  's  a  lady 
So  tender  of  rebukes  that  words  are  strokes  40 

And  strokes  death  to  her. 

Re-enter  Attendant. 

Cymbeline.  Where  is  she,  sir  ?     How 

Can  her  contempt  be  answer'd  ? 

Attendant.  Please  you,  sir, 

Her  chambers  are  all  lock'd;  and  there  Js  no  answer 
That  will  be  given  to  the  loud'st  noise  we  make. 

Queen.  My  lord,  when  last  I  went  to  visit  her, 
She  pray'd  me  to  excuse  her  keeping  close, 
Whereto  constraint  by  her  infirmity, 
She  should  that  duty  leave  unpaid  to  you, 
Which  daily  she  was  bound  to  proffer ;  this 
She  wish'd  me  to  make  known,  but  our  great  court  so 

Made  me  to  blame  in  memory. 

Cymbeline.  Her  doors  lock'd  ? 

Not  seen  of  late  ?     Grant,  heavens,  that  which  I  fear 
Prove  false  !  [Exit. 

Queen.  Son,  I  say,  follow  the  king. 

Cloten.  That  man  of  hers,  Pisanio,  her  old  servant, 
I  have  not  seen  these  two  days. 

Queen.  Go,  look  after. — [Exit  Cloten. 

Pisanio,  thou  that  stand'st  so  for  Posthumus ! 


I02  CYMBELINE. 

He  hath  a  drug  of  mine;  I  pray  his  absence 

Proceed  by  swallowing  that,  for  he  believes 

It  is  a  thing  most  precious.     But  for  her, 

Where  is  she  gone  ?     Haply,  despair  hath  seizM  her,  60 

Or,  wing'd  with  fervour  of  her  love,  she  's  flown 

To  her  desir'd  Posthumus.     Gone  she  is 

To  death  or  to  dishonour;  and  my  end 

Can  make  good  use  of  either  :  she  being  down, 

I  have  the  placing  of  the  British  crown. 

Re-enter  CLOTEN. 
How  now,  my  son  ! 

Cloten.  'T  is  certain  she  is  fled. 

Go  in  and  cheer  the  king:  he  rages;  none 
Dare  come  about  him. 

Queen.  [Aside]  All  the  better ;  may 

This  night  forestall  him  of  the  coming  day  !  [Exit. 

Cloten.  I  love  and  hate  her,  for  she  's  fair  and  royal,        7o 
And  that  she  hath  all  courtly  parts  more  exquisite 
Than  lady,  ladies,  woman;  from  every  one 
The  best  she  hath,  and  she,  of  all  compounded, 
Outsells  them  all.     I  love  her  therefore  :  but 
Disdaining  me  and  throwing  favours  on 
The  low  Posthumus  slanders  so  her  judgment 
That  what  's  else  rare  is  chok'd;  and  in  that  point 
I  will  conclude  to  hate  her,  nay,  indeed, 
To  be  reveng'd  upon  her.     For  when  fools 
Shall— 

Enter  PISANIO. 

Who  is  here?     What,  are  you  packing,  sirrah?         80 
Come  hither.     Ah,  you  precious  pander!      Villain, 
Where  is  thy  lady?     In  a  word,  or  else 
Thou  art  straightway  with  the  fiends. 

Pisanio.  O,  good  my  lord ! 

Cloten.  Where  is  thy  lady?  or,  by  Jupiter, — 


ACT  III.     SCENE    V.  103 

I  will  not  ask  again.     Close  villain, 
I  '11  have  this  secret  from  thy  heart,  or  rip 
Thy  heart  to  find  it.     Is  she  with  Posthumus? 
From  whose  so  many  weights  of  baseness  cannot 
A  dram  of  worth  be  drawn. 

Pisanio.  Alas,  my  lord, 

How  can  she  be  with  him?     When  was  she  miss'd?  90 

He  is  in  Rome. 

Cloten.  Where  is  she,  sir?     Come  nearer; 

No  further  halting :  satisfy  me  home 
What  is  become  of  her. 

Pisanio.  O,  my  all-worthy  lord ! 

Cloten.  All-worthy  villain ! 

Discover  where  thy  mistress  is  at  once, 
At  the  next  word  \  no  more  of '  worthy  lord !' 
Speak,  or  thy  silence  on  the  instant  is 
Thy  condemnation  and  thy  death. 

Pisanio.  Then,  sir, 

This  paper  is  the  history  of  my  knowledge 
Touching  her  flight.  [Presenting  a  letter. 

Cloten.  Let 's  see 't,     I  will  pursue  her         100 

Even  to  Augustus'  throne. 

Pisanio.  [Aside]  Or  this,  or  perish. 

She  's  far  enough;  and  what  he  learns  by  this 
May  prove  his  travel,  not  her  danger. 

Cloten.  Hum ! 

Pisanio.  [Aside]  I'll  write  to  my  lord  she's  dead.    O  Imo- 
gen, 
Safe  mayst  thou  wander,  safe  return  again ! 

Cloten.  Sirrah,  is  this  letter  true? 

Pisanio.   Sir,  as  I  think. 

Cloten.  It  is  Posthumus'  hand ;  I  know  't. — Sirrah,  if  thou 
wouldst  not  be  a  villain,  but  do  me  true  service,  undergo 
those  employments  wherein  I  should  have  cause  to  use  thee 
with  a  serious  industry,  that  is,  what  villany  soe'er  I  bid  thee 


I04  CYMBELINE. 

do,  to  perform  it  directly  and  truly,  I  would  think  thee  an 
honest  man ;  thou  shouldst  neither  want  my  means  for  thy 
relief  nor  my  voice  for  thy  preferment.  114 

Pisanio.  Well,  my  good  lord. 

Cloten.  Wilt  thou  serve  me  ?  for  since  patiently  and  con- 
stantly thou  hast  stuck  to  the  bare  fortune  of  that  beggar 
Posthumus,  thou  canst  not,  in  the  course  of  gratitude,  but  be 
a  diligent  follower  of  mine ;  wilt  thou  serve  me  ? 

Pisanio.  Sir,  I  will.  120 

Cloten.  Give  me  thy  hand;  here  's  my  purse.  Hast  any 
of  thy  late  master's  garments  in  thy  possession? 

Pisanio.  I  have,  my  lord,  at  my  lodging,  the  same  suit  he 
wore  when  he  took  leave  of  my  lady  and  mistress. 

Cloten.  The  first  service  thou  dost  me,  fetch  that  suit 
hither:  let  it  be  thy  first  service;  go. 

Pisanio.  I  shall,  my  lord.  [Exit. 

Cloten.  Meet  thee  at  Milford-Haven  ! — I  forgot  to  ask  him 
one  thing;  I  '11  remember  't  anon. — Even  there,  thou  villain 
Posthumus,  will  I  kill  thee.  I  would  these  garments  were 
come.  She  said  upon  a  time — the  bitterness  of  it  I  now 
belch  from  my  heart — that  she  held  the  very  garment  of 
Posthumus  in  more  respect  than  my  noble  and  natural  per- 
son, together  with  the  adornment  of  my  qualities.  With  that 
suit  upon  my  back,  will  I  ravish  her:  first  kill  him,  and  in  her 
eyes;  there  shall  she  see  my  valour,  which  will  then  be  a  tor- 
ment to  her  contempt.  He  on  the  ground,  my  speech  of  in- 
sultment  ended  on  his  dead  body,  and  when  my  lust  hath 
dined, — which,  as  I  say,  to  vex  her  I  will  execute  in  the 
clothes  that  she  so  praised, — to  the  court  I  '11  knock  her 
back,  foot  her  home  again.  She  hath  despised  me  rejoic- 
ingly, and  I'll  be  merry  in  my  revenge. —  143 

Re-enter  PISANIO,  with  the  clothes. 

Be  those  the  garments? 

Pisanio.  Ay,  my  noble  lord. 


ACT  III.    SCENE   VL  Io^ 

Cloten.  How  long  is  't  since  she  went  to  Milford-Haven? 

Pisanio.  She  can  scarce  be  there  yet. 

Cloten.  Bring  this  apparel  to  my  chamber;  that  is  the  sec- 
ond thing  that  I  have  commanded  thee :  the  third  is,  that 
thou  wilt  be  a  voluntary  mute  to  my  design.  Be  but  dute- 
ous, and  true  preferment  shall  tender  itself  to  thee.-1— My  re- 
venge is  now  at  Milford;  would  I  had  wings  to  follow  it! — 
Come,  and  be  true.  [Exit. 

Pisanio.  Thou  bid'st  me  to  my  loss ;  for  true  to  thee      153 
Were  to  prove  false,  which  I  will  never  be, 
To  him  that  is  most  true. — To  Milford  go, 
And  find  not  her  whom  thou  pursuest.     Flow,  flow, 
You  heavenly  blessings,  on  her!     This  fool's  speed 
Be  cross'd  with  slowness ;  labour  be  his  meed  !  \Exit. 

SCENE  VI.      Wales.     Before  the  Cave  of  Belarius. 
Enter  IMOGEN,  in  boy's  clothes. 

Imogen.  I  see  a  man's  life  is  a  tedious  one; 
I  have  tir'd  myself,  and  for  two  nights  together 
Have  made  the  ground  my  bed.     I  should  be  sick, 
But  that  my  resolution  helps  me. — Milford, 
When  from  the  mountain-top  Pisanio  show'd  thee, 
Thou  wast  within  a  ken.     O  Jove!  I  think 
Foundations  fly  the  wretched ;  such,  I  mean, 
Where  they  should  be  reliev'd.     Two  beggars  told  me 
I  could  not  miss  my  way;  will  poor  folks  lie, 
That  have  afflictions  on  them,  knowing  't  is  10 

A  punishment  or  trial?     Yes;  no  wonder, 
When  rich  ones  scarce  tell  true.     To  lapse  in  fulness 
Is  sorer  than  to  lie  for  need,  and  falsehood 
Is  worse  in  kings  than  beggars. — My  dear  lord! — 
Thou  art  one  o'  the  false  ones.     Now  I  think  on  thee, 
My  hunger  's  gone ;  but  even  before,  I  was 
At  point  to  sink  for  food. — But  what  is  this? 


I06  CYMBELINE. 

Here  is  a  path  to  't;  't  is  some  savage  hold. 

I  were  best  not  call ;  I  dare  not  call :  yet  famine, 

Ere  clean  it  o'erthrovv  nature,  makes  it  valiant.  20 

Plenty  and  peace  breeds  cowards ;  hardness  ever 

Of  hardiness  is  mother. — Ho!  who  's  here? 

If  any  thing  that 's  civil,  speak ;  if  savage, 

Take  or  lend.     Ho! — No  answer?     Then  I  '11  enter. 

Best  draw  my  sword ;  and  if  mine  enemy 

But  fear  the  sword  like  me,  he  '11  scarcely  look  on  't, 

Such  a  foe,  good  heavens !  \Exit ,  to  the  cave. 

Enter  BELARIUS,  GUIDERIUS,  and  ARVIRAGUS. 

Belarius.  You,  Polydore,  have  prov'd  best  woodman  and 
Are  master  of  the  feast :  Cadwal  and  I 
Will  play  the  cook  and  servant ;.  't  is  our  match.  3o 

The  sweat  of  industry  would  dry  and  die, 
But  for  the  end  it  works  to.     Come ;  our  stomachs 
Will  make  what 's  homely  savoury  :  weariness 
Can  snore  upon  the  flint,  when  resty  sloth 
Finds  the  down  pillow  hard. — Now  peace  be  here, 
Poor  house,  that  keep'st  thyself! 

Guiderius.  I  am  throughly  weary. 

Arviragus.  I  am  weak  with  toil,  yet  strong  in  appetite. 

Guiderius.  There  is  cold  meat  i'  the  cave ;  we  '11  browse 

on  that, 
Whilst  what  we  have  kill'd  be  cook'd. 

Belarius.   [Looking  into  the  cave]  Stay;  come  not  in.          40 
But  that  it  eats  our  victuals,  I  should  think 
Here  were  a  fairy. 

Guiderius.  What 's  the  matter,  sir? 

Belarius.  By  Jupiter,  an  angel !  or,  if  not, 
An  earthly  paragon  ! — Behold  divineness 
No  elder  than  a  boy ! 


ACT  III.     SCENE  VI.  IO 

Re-enter  IMOGEN. 

Imogen.  Good  masters,  harm  me  not : 
Before  I  enter'd  here,  I  call'd ;  and  thought 
To  have  begg'd  or  bought  what  I  have  took. — Good  troth, 
I  have  stol'n  nought,  nor  would  not,  though  I  had  found 
Gold  strew'd  i'  the  floor.     Here  's  money  for  my  meat;       \ 
I  would  have  left  it  on  the  board  so  soon 
As  I  had  made  my  meal,  and  parted 
With  prayers  for  the  provider. 

Guiderius.  Money,  youth  ? 

Arviragus.  All  gold  and  silver  rather  turn  to  dirt! 
As  't  is  no  better  reckon'd,  but  of  those 
Who  worship  dirty  gods. 

Imogen.  I  see  you  're  angry ; 

Know,  if  you  kill  me  for  my  fault,  I  should 
Have  died  had  I  not  made  it. 

Belarius.  Whither  bound? 

Imogen.  To  Milford-Haven. 

Belarius.  What 's  your  name?  < 

Imogen.  Fidele,  sir.     I  have  a  kinsman  who 
Is  bound  for  Italy  :  he  embark'd  at  Milford ; 
To  whom  being  going,  almost  spent  with  hunger, 
I  am  falPn  in  this  offence. 

Belarius.  Prithee,  fair  youth, 

Think  us  no  churls,  nor  measure  our  good  minds 
By  this  rude  pjace  we  live  in.     Well  encounter'd! 
'T  is  almost  night;  you  shall  have  better  cheer 
Ere  you  depart,  and  thanks  to  stay  and  eat  it. — 
Boys,  bid  him  welcome. 

Guiderius.  Were  you  a  woman,  youth, 

I  should  woo  hard  but  be  your  groom. — In  honesty, 
I  bid  for  you  as  I  'd  buy. 

Arviragus.  I  '11  make  't  my  comfort 

He  is  a  man;  I  '11  love  him  as  my  brother; 


108  CYMBELINE. 

And  such  a  welcome  as  I  'd  give  to  him 

After  long  absence,  such  is  yours. — Most  welcome! 

Be  sprightly,  for  you  fall  'mongst  friends. 

Imogen.  'Mongst  friends, 

If  brothers. — \_Aside]  Would  it  had  been  so,  that  they 
Had  been  my  father's  sons !  then  had  my  prize 
Been  less,  and  so  more  equal  ballasting 
To  thee,  Posthumus. 

Belarius.  He  wrings  at  some  distress. 

Guiderius.  Would  I  could  free  't ! 

Arviragus.  .  Or  I,  whate'er  it  be,  80 

What  pain  it  cost,  what  danger.     Gods ! 

Belarius.  Hark,  boys. 

[  Whispering. 

Imogen.  Great  men, 

That  had  a  court  no  bigger  than  this  cave, 
That  did  attend  themselves  and  had  the  virtue 
Which  their  own  conscience  seal'd  them — laying  by 
That  nothing-gift  of  differing  multitudes — 
Could  not  out-peer  these  twain. — Pardon  me,  gods ! 
I  'd  change  my  sex  to  be  companion  with  them, 
Since  Leonatus  '  false. 

Belarius.  It  shall  be  so. 

Boys,  we  '11  go  dress  our  hunt. — Fair  youth,  come  in.  90 

Discourse  is  heavy,  fasting;  when  we  have  supp'd, 
We  '11  mannerly  demand  thee  of  thy  story, 
So  far  as  thou  wilt  speak  it.  . 

Guiderius.  Pray,  draw  near. 

Arviragus.  The  night  to  the  owl  and  morn  to  the  lark  less 
welcome. 

Imogen.  Thanks,  sir. 

Arviragus.  I  pray,  draw  near.  [Exeunt. 


ACT  III,     SCENE   VII.  IOQ 


SCENE  VII.     Rome.     A  Public  Place. 
Enter  two  Senators  and  Tribunes. 

i  Senator.  This  is  the  tenour  of  the  emperor's  writ : 
That  since  the  common  men  are  now  in  action 
'Gainst  the  Pannonians  and  Dalmatians, 
And  that  the  legions  now  in  Gallia  are 
Full  weak  to  undertake  our  wars  against 
The  fall'n-off  Britons,  that  we  do  incite 
The  gentry  to  this  business.     He  creates 
Lucius  proconsul ;  and  to  you  the  tribunes, 
For  this  immediate  levy,  he  commands 
His  absolute  commission.     Long  live  Caesar !  10 

1  Tribune.  Is  Lucius  general  of  the  forces  ? 

2  Senator.  Ay. 
i  Tribune.  Remaining  now  in  Gallia? 

i  Senator.  With  those  legions 

Which  I  have  spoke  of,  whereunto  your  levy 
Must  be  suppliant;  the  words  of  your  commission 
Will  tie  you  to  the  numbers  and  the  time 
Of  their  dispatch. 

i  Tribune.  We  will  discharge  our  duty.         {Exeunt. 


ACT    IV. 

SCENE  I.      Wales  :  near  the  Cave  of  Belarius. 
Enter  CLOTEN. 

Cloten.  I  am  near  to  the  place  where  they  should  meet,  if 
Pisanio  have  mapped  it  truly.  How  fit  his  garments  serve 
me!  Why  should  his  mistress,  who  was  made  by  him  that 
made  the  tailor,  not  be  fit  too  ?  the  rather — saving  reverence 
of  the  word — for  't  is  said  a  woman's  fitness  comes  by  fits. 
Therein  I  must  play  the  workman.  I  dare  speak  it  to  my- 
self— for  it  is  not  vain-glory  for  a  man  and  his  glass  to  con- 
fer in  his  own  chamber — I  mean,  the  lines  of  my  body  are  as 
well  drawn  as  his ;  no  less  young,  more  strong,  not  beneath 
him  in  fortunes,  beyond  him  in  the  advantage  of  the  time, 
above  him  in  birth,  alike  conversant  in  general  services,  and 
more  remarkable  in  single  oppositions;  yet  this  impersever- 


A CT  IV.     SCENE  II.  ITI 

ant  thing  loves  him  in  my  despite.  What  mortality  is ! 
Posthumus,  thy  head,  which  now  is  growing  upon  thy  shoul- 
ders, shall  within  this  hour  be  off;  thy  mistress  enforced; 
thy  garments  cut  to  pieces  before  thy  face:  and  all  this 
done,  spurn  her  home  to  her  father,  who  may  happily  be  a 
little  angry  for  my  so  rough  usage,  but  my  mother,  having 
power  of  his  testiness,  shall  turn  all  into  my  commendations. 
My  horse  is  tied  up  safe ;  out,  sword,  and  to  a  sore  purpose ! 
Fortune  put  them  into  my  hand!  This  is  the  very  descrip- 
tion of  their  meeting-place;  and  the  fellow  dares  not  deceive 
me.  [Exit. 

SCENE  II.     Before  the  Cave  of  Belarius. 

Enter ;  from  the  cave,  BELARIUS,  GUIDERIUS,  ARVIRAGUS,  and 

IMOGEN. 

Belarius.  \To  Imogen]  You  are  not  well:  remain  here  in 

the  cave ; 
We  '11  come  to  you  after  hunting. 

Arviragus.  [To  Imogen]  Brother,  stay  here; 

Are  we  not  brothers?    ' 

Imogen.  So  man  and  man  should  be; 

But  clay  and  clay  differs  in  dignity, 
Whose  dust  is  both  alike.     I  am  very  sick. 

Guiderius.  Go  you  to  hunting;  I  '11  abide  with  him. 

Imogen.   So  sick  I  am  not,  yet  I  am  not  well ; 
But  not  so  citizen  a  wanton  as 
To  seem  to  die  ere  sick.     So  please  you,  leave  me; 
Stick  to  your  journal  course:  the  breach  of  custom  10 

Is  breach  of  all.     I  am  ill,  but  your  being  by  me 
Cannot  amend  me ;  society  is  no  comfort 
To  one  not  sociable.     I  am  not  very  sick, 
Since  I  can  reason  of  it.     Pray  you,  trust  me  here ; 
I  '11  rob  none  but  myself,  and  let  me  die, 
Stealing  so  poorly. 

Guiderius.  I  love  thee;  I  have  spoke  it: 


II2  CYMBELINE. 

How  much  the  quantity,  the  weight  as  much, 
As  I  do  love  my  father. 

Belarius.  What !  how !  how ! 

Arviragus.  If  it  be  sin  to  say  so,  sir,  I  yoke  me 
In  my  good  brother's  fault.     I  know  not  why  2o 

I  love  this  youth;  and  I  have  heard  you  say, 
Love's  reason  's  without  reason :  the  bier  at  door, 
And  a  demand  who  is  't  shall  die,  I  'd  say 
My  father,  not  this  youth, 

Belarius.  \_Aside\  O  noble  strain  ! 

0  worthiness  of  nature!  breed  of  greatness! 
Cowards  father  cowards  and  base  things  sire  base. 
Nature  hath  meal  and  bran,  contempt  and  grace. 
I'  m  not  their  father ;  yet  who  this  should  be, 
Doth  miracle  itself,  lov'd  before  me.— 

'T  is  the  ninth  hour  o'  the  morn. 

Arviragus.  Brother,  farewell.  30 

Imogen.  I  wish  ye  sport. 

Arviragus.  You  health. — So  please  you,  sir. 

Imogen.    [Aside]   These  are  kind  creatures.      Gods,  what 

lies  I  have  heard ! 

Our  courtiers  say  all 's  savage  but  at  court; 
Experience,  O,  thou  disprov'st  report! 
The  imperious  seas  breed  monsters,  for  the  dish 
Poor  tributary  rivers  as  sweet  fish. 

1  am  sick  still,  heart-sick. — Pisanio, 

I  '11  now  taste  of  thy  drug.  [Swallows  some. 

Guiderius.  I  could  not  stir  him: 

He  said  he  was  gentle,  but  unfortunate; 
Dishonestly  afflicted,  but  yet  honest.  40 

Arviragus.  Thus  did  he  answer  me ;  yet  said,  hereafter 
I  might  know  more. 

Belarius.  To  the  field,  to  the  field! — 

We  '11  leave  you  for  this  time ;  go  in  and  rest. 

Arviragus.  We  '11  not  be  long  away. 


ACT  IV.     SCENE  IL  H3 

Belarius.  Pray,  be  not  sick, 

For  you  must  be  our  huswife. 

Imogen.  Well  or  ill, 

I  am  bound  to  you. 

Belarius.  And  shalt  be  ever. — 

\Exit  Imogen,  to  the  cave. 

This  youth,  howe'er  distress'd,  appears  he  hath  had 
Good  ancestors. 

Arviragus.         How  angel-like  he  sings ! 

Guiderius.  But  his  neat  cookery !  he  cut  our  roots 
In  characters,  50 

And  sauc'd  our  broths,  as  Juno  had  been  sick 
And  he  her  dieter. 

Arviragus.  Nobly  he  yokes 

A  smiling  with  a  sigh,  as  if  the  sigh 
Was  that  it  was,  for  not  being  such  a  smile; 
The  smile  mocking  the  sigh,  that  it  would  fly 
From  so  divine  a  temple,  to  commix 
With  winds  that  sailors  rail  at. 

Guiderius.  I  do  note 

That  grief  and  patience,  rooted  in  him  both, 
Mingle  their  spurs  together. 

Arviragus.  Grow,  patience ! 

And  let  the  stinking  elder,  grief,  untwine  60 

His  perishing  root  with  the  increasing  vine! 

Belarius.    It   is   great  morning.     Come,  away! — Who's 
there? 

Enter  CLOTEN. 

Cloten.  I  cannot  find  those  runagates ;  that  villain 
Hath  mock'd  me.     I  am  faint. 

Belarius.  Those  runagates ! 

Means  he  not  us?     I  partly  know  him;  't  is 
Cloten,  the  son  o'  the  queen.     I  fear  some  ambush. 
I  saw  him  not  these  many  years,  and  yet 
I  know  't  is  he. — We  are  held  as  outlaws;  hence! 

H 


II4  CYMBELINE. 

Guiderius.  He  is  but  one.     You  and  my  brother  search 
What  companies  are  near:  pray  you,  away;  70 

Let  me  alone  with  him.        {Exeunt  Belarius  and  Arviragus. 

Cloten.  Soft!     What  are  you 

That  fly  me  thus?  some  villain  mountaineers? 
I  have  heard  of  such. — What  slave  art  thou? 

Guiderius.  A  thing 

More  slavish  did  I  ne'er  than  answering 
A  slave  without  a  knock. 

Cloten.  Thou  art  a  robber, 

A  law-breaker,  a  villain ;  yield  thee,  thief. 

Guiderius.  To  who?   to  thee?     What  art  thou?     Have 

not  I 

An  arm  as  big  as  thine?  a  heart  as  big? 
Thy  words,  I  grant,  are  bigger,  for  I  wear  not 
My  dagger  in  my  mouth.     Say  what  thou  art,  80 

Why  I  should  yield  to  thee? 

Cloten.  Thou  villain  base, 

Know'st  me  not  by  my  clothes? 

Guiderius.  No,  nor  thy  tailor,  rascal, 

Who  is  thy  grandfather;  he  made  those  clothes, 
Which,  as  it  seems,  make  thee. 

Cloten.  Thou  precious  varlet, 

My  tailor  made  them  not. 

Guiderius.  Hence,  then,  and  thank 

The  man  that  gave  them  thee.     Thou  art  some  fool; 
I  am  loath  to  beat  thee. 

Cloten.  Thou  injurious  thief, 

Hear  but  my  name,  and  tremble. 

Guiderius.  What  's  thy  name? 

Cloten.  Cloten,  thou  villain. 

Guiderius.  Cloten,  thou  double  villain,  be  thy  name,         90 
I  cannot  tremble  at  it ;  were  it  toad,  or  adder,  spider, 
'T  would  move  me  sooner. 

Cloten.  To  thy  further  fear, 


ACT  IV.     SCENE  II.  H5 

Nay,  to  thy  mere  confusion,  thou  shalt  know 
I  am  son  to  the  queen. 

Guiderius.  I  am  sorry  for  't,  not  seeming 

So  worthy  as  thy  birth. 

Cloten.  Art  not  afeard? 

Guiderius.  Those  that  I  reverence,  those  I  fear, — the  wise ; 
At  fools  I  laugh,  not  fear  them. 

Cloten.  Die  the  death ! 

When  I  have  slain  thee  with  my  proper  hand, 
I  '11  follow  those  that  even  now  fled  hence, 
And  on  the  gates  of  Lud's  town  set  your  heads.  TOO 

Yield,  rustic  mountaineer.  \Exeunt,  fighting. 

Re-enter  BELARIUS  and  ARVIRAGUS. 

Belarius.  No  companies  abroad? 

Arviragus.  None  in  the  world ;  you  did  mistake  him,  sure. 

Belarius.  I  cannot  tell :  long  is  it  since  I  saw  him, 
But  time  hath  nothing  blurr'd  those  lines  of  favour 
Which  then  he  wore;  the  snatches  in  his  voice, 
And  burst  of  speaking,  were  as  his.     I  am  absolute 
'T  was  very  Cloten. 

Arviragus.  In  this  place  we  left  them ; 

I  wish  my  brother  make  good  time  with  him, 
You  say  he  is  so  fell. 

Belarius.  Being  scarce  made  up,  no 

I  mean,  to  man,  he  had  not  apprehension 
Of  roaring  terrors;  for  defect  of  judgment 
Is  oft  the  cause  of  fear. — But,  see,  thy  brother  ! 

Re-enter  GUIDERIUS,  with  CLOTEN'S  head. 
Guiderius.  This  Cloten  was  a  fool,  an  empty  purse  j 
There  was  no  money  in  't.     Not  Hercules 
Could  have  knock'd  out  his  brains, for  he  had  none; 
Yet  I  not  doing  this,  the  fool  had  borne 
My  head  as  I  do  his. 


1X6  CYMBELINE. 

Belarius.  What  hast  thou  done? 

Guiderius.    I    am    perfect   what:    cut    off  one    Cloten's 

head, 

Son  to  the  queen,  after  his  own  report;  120 

Who  call'd  me  traitor,  mountaineer,  and  swore 
With  his  own  single  hand  he  'd  take  us  in, 
Displace  our  heads  where — thank  the  gods! — they  grow, 
And  set  them  on  Lud's  town. 

Belarius.  We  are  all  undone. 

Guiderius.  Why,  worthy  father,  what  have  we  to  lose, 
But  that  he  swore  to  take,  our  lives?     The  law 
Protects  not  us;  then  why  should  we  be  tender 
To  let  an  arrogant  piece  of  flesh  threat  us, 
Play  judge  and  executioner  all  himself, 
For  we  do  fear  the  law?     What  company  no 

Discover  you  abroad? 

Belarius.  No  single  soul 

Can  we  set  eye  on,  but  in  all  safe  reason 
He  must  have  some  attendants.     Though  his  humour 
Was  nothing  but  mutation, — ay,  and  that 
From  one  bad  thing  to  worse, — not  frenzy,  not 
Absolute  madness  could  so  far  have  rav'd 
To  bring  him  here  alone.     Although  perhaps 
It  may  be  heard  at  court  that  such  as  we 
Cave  here,  hunt  here,  are  outlaws,  and  in  time 
May  make  some  stronger  head ;  the  which  he  hearing — 
As  it  is  like  him — might  break  out,  and  swear  141 

He  'd  fetch  us  in ;  yet  is  't  not  probable 
To  come  alone,  either  he  so  undertaking, 
Or  they  so  suffering:  then  on  good  ground  we  fear, 
If  we  do  fear  this  body  hath  a  tail 
More  perilous  than  the  head. 

Arviragus.  Let  ordinance 

Come  as  the  gods  foresay  it;  howsoe'er, 
My  brother  hath  done  well. 


ACT  IV.     SCENE  //. 


117 


Belarius.  I  had  no  mind 

To  hunt  this  day;  the  boy  Fidele's  sickness 
Did  make  my  way  long  forth. 

Guiderius.  With  his  own  sword,          i«jo 

Which  he  did  wave  against  my  throat,  I  have  ta'en 
His  head  from  him.     I  '11  throw  't  into  the  creek 
Behind  our  rock;  and  let  it  to  the  sea, 
And  tell  the  fishes  he  's  the  queen's  son,  Cloten. 
That 's  all  I  reck.  {Exit. 

Belarius.  I  fear  't  will  be  reveng'd. 

Would,  Polydore,  thou  hadst  not  done  't!  though  valour 
Becomes  thee  well  enough. 

Arviragus.  Would  I  had  done  't, 

So  the  revenge  alone  pursued  me !     Polydore, 
I  love  thee  brotherly,  but  envy  much 

Thou  hast  robb'd  me  of  this  deed ;  I  would  revenges,         160 
That  possible  strength  might  meet,  would  seek  us  through 
And  put  us  to  our  answer. 

Belarius.  Well,  't  is  done. 

We  '11  hunt  no  more  to-day,  nor  seek  for  danger 
Where  there  's  no  profit.     I  prithee,  to  our  rock; 
You  and  Fidele  play  the  cooks :  I  '11  stay 
Till  hasty  Polydore  return,  and  bring  him 
To  dinner  presently. 

Arviragus.  Poor  sick  Fidele! 

I  '11  willingly  to  him;  to  gain  his  colour 
I  'd  let  a  parish  of  such  Clotens  blood, 
And  praise  myself  for  charity.  \Exit. 

Belarius.  O  thou  goddess,  no 

Thou  divine  Nature,  how  thyself  thou  blazon'st 
In  these  two  princely  boys !     They  are  as  gentle 
As  zephyrs  blowing  below  the  violet, 
Not  wagging  his  sweet  head ;  and  yet  as  rough, 
Their  royal  blood  enchaf  d,  as  the  rud'st  wind, 
That  by  the  top  doth  take  the  mountain  pine, 


IZ8  CYMBELINE. 

And  make  him  stoop  to  the  vale.     'T  is  wonder 

That  an  invisible  instinct  should  frame  them 

To  royalty  unlearn'd,  honour  untaught, 

Civility  not  seen  from- other,  valour  180 

That  wildly  grows  in  them,  but  yields  a  crop 

As  if  it  had  been  sow'd.     Yet  still  it  's  strange 

What  Cloten's  being  here  to  us  portends, 

Or  what  his  death  will  bring  us. 

. 
Re-enter  GUIDERIUS. 

Guiderius.  Where  's  my  brother  ? 

I  have  sent  Cloten's  clotpoll  down  the  stream, 
In  embassy  to  his  mother ;  his  body's  hostage 
For  his  return.  {Solemn  music. 

Belarius.          My  ingenious  instrument ! 
Hark,  Polydore,  it  sounds  !     But  what  occasion 
Hath  Cadwal  now  to  give  it  motion  ?     Hark  ! 

Guiderius.  Is  he  at  home  ? 

Belarius.  He  went  hence  even  now. 

Guiderius.  What  does  he  mean?  since  death  of  my  dear'st 
mother  i9I 

It  did  not  speak  before.     All  solemn  things 
Should  answer  solemn  accidents.     The  matter  ? 
Triumphs  for  nothing  and  lamenting  toys 
Is  jollity  for  apes  and  grief  for  boys. 
Is  Cadwal  mad  ? 

Belarius.  Look,  here  he  comes, 

And  brings  the  dire  occasion  in  his  arms 
Of  what  we  blame  him  for. 

Re-enter  ARVIRAGUS,  with  IMOGEN,  as  dead,  bearing  her  in  his 

arms. 

Arviragus.  The  bird  is  dead 

That  we  have  made  so  much  on.     I  had  rather 
Have  skipp'd  from  sixteen  years  of  age  to  sixty,  200 


ACT  IV.    SCENE  II. 

To  have  turn'd  my  leaping-time  into  a  crutch, 
Than  have  seen  this. 

Guiderius.  O  sweetest,  fairest  lily  ! 

My  brother  wears  thee  not  the  one  half  so  well 
As  when  thou  grew'st  thyself. 

Belarius.  O  melancholy ! 

Who  ever  yet  could  sound  thy  bottom  ?  find 
The  ooze,  to  show  what  coast  thy  sluggish  crare 
Might  easiliest  harbour  in  ? — Thou  blessed  thing! 
Jove  knows  what  man  thou  mightst  have  made ;  but  I, 
Thou  diedst,  a  most  rare  boy,  of  melancholy.- — 
How  found  you  him  ? 

Arviragus.  Stark,  as  you  see : 

Thus  smiling,  as  some  fly  had  tickled  slumber, 
Not  as  death's  dart,  being  laugh'd  at;  his  right  cheek 
Reposing  on  a  cushion. 

Guiderius.  Where  ? 

Arviragus.  O'  the  floor, 

His  arms  thus  leagued;  I  thought  he  slept,  and  put 
My  clouted  brogues  from  off  my  feet,  whose  rudeness 
Answer'd  my  steps  too  loud. 

Guiderius.  Why,  he  but  sleeps  : 

If  he  be  gone,  he  '11  make  his  grave  a  bed ; 
With  female  fairies  will  his  tomb  be  haunted, 
And  worms  will  not  come  to  thee. 

Arviragus.  With  fairest  flowers 

Whilst  summer  lasts  and  I  live  here,  Fidele, 
I  '11  sweeten  thy  sad  grave ;  thou  shalt  not  lack 
The  flower  that  's  like  thy  face,  pale  primrose,  nor 
The  azur'd  harebell,  like  thy  veins,  no,  nor 
The  leaf  of  eglantine,  whom  not  to  slander, 
Out-sweeten'd  not  thy  breath  :  the  ruddock  would, 
With  charitable  bill, — O  bill,  sore-shaming 
Those  rich-left  heirs  that  let  their  fathers  lie 
Without  a  monument! — bring  thee  all  this; 


119 


120  CYMBELINE. 

Yea,  and  furr'd  moss  besides,  when  flowers  are  none, 
To  winter-ground  thy  corse. 

Guiderius.  Prithee,  have  done;  230 

And  do  not  play  in  wench-like  words  with  that 
Which  is  so  serious.     Let  us  bury  him, 
And  not  protract  with  admiration  what 
Is  now  due  debt. — To  the  grave  ! 

Arviragus.  Say,  where  shall  's  lay  him  ? 

Guiderius.     By  good  Euriphile,  our  mother. 

Arviragus.  Be  't  so ; 

And  let  us,  Polydore,  though  now  our  voices 
Have  got  the  mannish  crack,  sing  him  to  the  ground, 
As  once  our  mother ;  use  like  note  and  words, 
Save  that  Euriphile  must  be  Fidele. 

Guiderius.  Cadwal,  240 

I  cannot  sing:  I  '11  weep,  and  word  it  with  thee; 
For  notes  of  sorrow  out  of  tune  are  worse 
Than  priests  and  fanes  that  lie. 

Arviragus.  We  '11  speak  it,  then. 

Belarius.  Great  griefs,  I  see,  medicine  the  less;  for  Clo- 

ten 

Is  quite  forgot.     He  was  a  queen's  son, boys; 
And  though  he  came  our  enemy,  remember 
He  was  paid  for  that :  though  mean  and  mighty,  rotting 
Together,  have  one  dust,  yet  reverence, 
That  angel  of  the  world,  doth  make  distinction 
Of  place  'tween  high  and  low.     Our  foe  was  princely;        250 
And  though  you  took  his  life,  as  being  our  foe, 
Yet  bury  him  as  a  prince. 

Guiderius.  Pray  you,  fetch  him  hither. 

Thersites'  body  is  as  good  as  Ajax', 
When  neither  are  alive. 

Arviragus.  If  you  '11  go  fetch  him, 

We  '11  say  our  song  the  whilst— Brother,  begin. 

\Exit  Belarius. 


ACT  IV.     SCENE  II.  I2I 

Guiderius.  Nay,  Cadwal,  we  must  lay  his  head  to  the  east; 
My  father  hath  a  reason  for  't. 

Arviragus.  'T  is  true. 

Guiderius.  Come  on  then,  and  remove  him. 
Arviragus.  So,  begin. 

Song. 
Guiderius.    Fear  no  more  the  heat  o*  the  sun, 

Nor  the  furious  winter's  rages  ;  260 

Thou  thy  worldly  task  hast  done, 

Home  art  gone,  and  t  a' en  thy  wages: 
Golden  lads  and  girls  all  must, 
As  chimney-sweepers,  come  to  dust. 

Arviragus.   Fear  no  more  the  frown  o*  the  great; 

Thou  art  past  the  tyrant's  stroke  ; 
Care  no  more  to  clothe  and  eat ; 

To  thee  the  reed  is  as  the  oak : 
The  sceptre,  learning,  physic,  must 
All  follow  this,  and  come  to  dust.  270 

Guiderius.  Fear  no  more  the  lightning-flash, 
Arviragus.       Nor  the  all-dreaded  thunder- stone ; 

o 

Guiderius.  Fear  not  slander,  censure  rash; 
Arviragus.        Thou  hast  finished  joy  and  moan: 
Both.  All  lovers  young,  all  lovers  must 

Consign  to  thee,  and  come  to  dust. 

Guiderius.  No  exerciser  harm  thee! 
Arviragus.  Nor  no  witchcraft  charm  thee  ! 
Guiderius.    Ghost  unlaid  forbear  thee! 

Arviragus.  Nothing  ill  come  near  thee!  280 

Both.  Quiet  consummation  have; 

And  renowned  be  thy  grave! 

Re-enter  BELARIUS,  with  the  body  ^/"CLOTEN. 
Guiderius.  We  have  done  our  obsequies.     Come,  lay  him 
down. 


122  CYMBELINE. 

Belarius.  Here  's  a  few  flowers;  but  'bout  midnight  more: 
The  herbs  that  have  on  them  cold  dew  o'  the  night 
Are  strewings  fitt'st  for  graves. — Upon  their  faces. — 
You  were  as  flowers,  now  wither'd ;  even  so 
These  herblets  shall,  which  we  upon  you  strew. 
Come  on,  away;  apart  upon  our  knees. 
The  ground  that  gave  them  first  has  them  again  ;  290 

Their  pleasures  here  are  past,  so  is  their  pain. 

\Exeunt  Belarius,  Guiderius,  and  Arviragus. 

Imogen.  [Awaking']  Yes,  sir,  to  Milford-Haven ;  which  is 

the  way? — 

I  thank  you. — By  yond  bush  ? — Pray,  how  far  thither  ? 
'Ods  pittikins!  can  it  be  six  mile  yet? — - 
I  have  gone  all  night.     Faith,  I  '11  lie  down  and  sleep. 
But,  soft !  no  bedfellow! — O  gods  and  goddesses! 

\_Seeing  the  body  of  Cloten. 

These  flowers  are  like  the  pleasures  of  the  world ; 
This  bloody  man,  the  care  on  't.  I  hope  I  dream, 
For  so  I  thought  I  was  a  cave-keeper, 

And  cook  to  honest  creatures:  but 't  is  not  so  ;  300 

'T  was  but  a  bolt  of  nothing,  shot  at  nothing, 
Which  the  brain  makes  of  fumes.     Our  very  eyes 
Are  sometimes  like  our  judgments,  blind.     Good  faith, 
I  tremble  still  with  fear :  but  if  there  be 
Yet  left  in  heaven  as  small  a  drop  of  pity 
As  a  wren's  eye,  fear'd  gods,  a  part  of  it ! 
The  dream  's  here  still :  even  when  I  wake,  it  is 
Without  me.  as  within  me  ;  not  imagin'd,  felt. — 
A  headless  man  ! — The  garments  of  Posthumus  ! 
I  know  the  shape  of  's  leg :  this  is  his  hand  ;  310 

His  foot  Mercurial ;  his  Martial  thigh  ; 
The  brawns  of  Hercules  :  but  his  Jovial  face — 
Murther  in  heaven? — How! — 'T  is  gone. — Pisanio, 
All  curses  madded  Hecuba  gave  the  Greeks, 
And  mine  to  boot,  be  darted  on  thee  !     Thou, 


ACT  IV.    SCENE  If.  123 

Conspir'd  with  that  irregulous  devil,  Cloten, 

Hast  here  cut  off  my  lord. — To  write  and  read 

Be  henceforth  treacherous ! — Damn'd  Pisanio 

Hath  with  his  forged  letters, — datnn'd  Pisanio — 

From  this  most  bravest  vessel  of  the  world  320 

Struck  the  main-top  ! — O  Posthumus  !  alas, 

Where  is  thy  head?  where  's  that?     Ay  me!  where  's  that? 

Pisanio  might  have  kilPd  thee  at  the  heart, 

And  left  this  head  on. — How  should  this  be?     Pisanio? 

'T  is  he  and  Cloten  ;  malice  and  lucre  in  them 

Have  laid  this  woe  here.     O,  't  is  pregnant,  pregnant ! 

The  drug  he  gave  me,  which  he  said  was  precious 

And  cordial  to  me,  have  I  not  found  it 

Murtherous  to  the  senses  ?     That  confirms  it  home  ; 

This  is  Pisanio's  deed,  and  Cloten's. — O!  330 

Give  colour  to  my  pale  cheek  with  thy  blood, 

That  we  the  horrider  may  seem  to  those 

Which  chance  to  find  us !     O,  my  lord,  my  lord  ! 

[Falls  oft  the  body. 

Enter  Lucius,  a  Captain  and  other  Officers,  and  a  Soothsayer. 

Captain.  To  them  the  legions  garrison'd  in  Gallia, 
After  your  will,  have  cross'd  the  sea,  attending 
You  here  at  Milford-Haven  with  your  ships ; 
They  are  in  readiness. 

Lucius.  But  what  from  Rome  ? 

Captain.  The  senate  hath  stirr'd  up  the  confiners 
And  gentlemen  of  Italy,  most  willing  spirits, 
That  promise  noble  service ;  and  they  come  340 

Under  the  conduct  of  bold  lachimo, 
Sienna's  brother.  ^ 

Lucius.  When  expect  you  them  ? 

Captain.  With  the  next  benefit  o'  the  wind. 

Lucius.  This  forwardness 

Makes  our  hopes  fair.     Command  our  present  numbers 


I24  CYMBELINE. 

Be  muster'd;  bid  the  captains  look  to  't. — Now,  sir, 
What  have  you  dream'd  of  late  of  this  war's  purpose  ? 

Soothsayer.  Last  night  the  very  gods  show'd  me  a  vision — 
I  fast  and  pray'd  for  their  intelligence — thus: 
I  saw  Jove's  bird,  the  Roman  eagle,  wing'd 
From  the  spongy  south  to  this  part  of  the  west,  350 

There  vanish'd  in  the  sunbeams ;  which  portends — 
Unless  my  sins  abuse  my  divination — 
Success  to  the  Roman  host. 

Lucius.  Dream  often  so, 

And  never  false. — Soft,  ho!  what  trunk  is  here 
Without  his  top?     The  ruin  speaks  that  sometime 
It  was  a  worthy  building. — How!  a  page! — 
Or  dead,  or  sleeping  on  him?     But  dead  rather; 
For  nature  doth  abhor  to  make  his  bed 
With  the  defunct,  or  sleep  upon  the  dead. — 
Let 's  see  the  boy's  face. 

Captain.  He 's  alive,  my  lord.  360 

Lucius.   He  '11  then   instruct  us   of  this  body.  —  Young 

one, 

Inform  us  of  thy  fortunes,  for  it  seems 
They  crave  to  be  demanded.     Who  is  this 
Thou  mak'st  thy  bloody  pillow?     Or  who  was  he 
That,  otherwise  than  noble  nature  did, 
Hath  alter'd  that  good  picture?     What  's  thy  interest 
In  this  sad  wrack?     How  came  it?     Who  is  it? 
What  art  thou  ? 

Imogen.  I  am  nothing ;  or  if  not, 

Nothing  to  be  were  better.     This  was  my  master, 
A  very  valiant  Briton  and  a  good,  370 

That  here  by  mountaineers  lies  slain. — Alas! 
There  is  no  more  such  masters;  I  may  wander 
From  east  to  Occident,  cry  out  for  service, 
Try  many,  all  good,  serve  truly,  never 
Find  such  another  master. 


ACT  IV.     SCENE  1 7. 


125 


Lucius.  'Lack,  good  youth ! 

Thou  mov'st  no  less  with  thy  complaining  than 
Thy  master  in  bleeding.     Say  his  name,  good  friend. 

Imogen.  Richard  du  Champ.     \Aside\  If  I  do  lie,  and  do 
No  harm  by  it,  though  the  gods  hear,  I  hope 
They  '11  pardon  it. — Say  you,  sir? 

Lucius.  Thy  name? 

Imogen.  Fidele,  sir. 

Lucius.  Thou  dost  approve  thyself  the  very  same;  381 

Thy  name  well  fits  thy  faith,  thy  faith  thy  name. 
Wilt  take  thy  chance  with  me?     I  will  not  say 
Thou  shalt  be  so  well  master'cl,  but,  be  sure, 
No  less  belov'd.     The  Roman  emperor's  letters, 
Sent  by  a  consul  to  me,  should  not  sooner 
Than  thine  own  worth  prefer  thee ;  go  with  me. 

Imogen.  I  '11  follow,  sir.     But  first,  an  't  please  the  gods, 
I  '11  hide  my  master  from  the  flies,  as  deep 
As  these  poor  pickaxes  can  dig;  and  when  390 

With  wild  wood-leaves  and  weeds  I  ha'  strew'd  his  grave, 
And  on  it  said  a  century  of  prayers, 
Such  as  I  can,  twice  o'er,  I  '11  weep  and  sigh, 
And  leaving  so  his  service,  follow  you, 
So  please  you  entertain  me. 

Lucius.  Ay,  good  youth. 

And  rather  father  thee  than  master  thee. — 
My  friends, 

The  boy  hath  taught  us  manly  duties :  let  us 
Find  out  the  prettiest  daisied  plot  we  can, 
And  make  him  with  our  pikes  and  partisans  400 

A  grave ;  come,  arm  him. — Boy,  he  is  preferr'd 
By  thee  to  us,  and  he  shall  be  interr'd 
As  soldiers  can.     Be  cheerful;  wipe  thine  eyes: 
Some  falls  are  means  the  happier  to  arise.  \Exeuni. 


I26  CYMBELINE. 


SCENE  III.     A  Room  in  Cymbeline1  s  Palace. 
Enter  CYMBELINE,  Lords,  PISANIO,  and  Attendants. 

Cymbeline.  Again ;  and  bring  me  word  how  't  is  with  her. 

\Exit  an  Attendant. 
A  fever  with  the  absence  of  her  son, 
A  madness,  of  which  her  life  's  in  danger. — Heavens, 
How  deeply  you  at  once  do  touch  me !     Imogen, 
The  great  part  of  my  comfort,  gone ;  my  queen 
Upon  a  desperate  bed,  and  in  a  time 
When  fearful  wars  point  at  me;  her  son  gone, 
So  needful  for  this  present :  it  strikes  me,  past 
The  hope  of  comfort. — But  for  thee,  fellow, 
Who  needs  must  know  of  her  departure  and  «o 

Dost  seem  so  ignorant,  we  '11  enforce  it  from  thee 
By  a  sharp  torture. 

Pisanio.  Sir,  my  life  is  yours, 

I  humbly  set  it  at  your  will ;  but,  for  my  mistress, 
I  nothing  know  where  she  remains,  why  gone, 
Nor  when  she  purposes  return.     Beseech  your  highness, 
Hold  me  your  loyal  servant. 

i  Lord.  Good  my  liege, 

The  day  that  she  was  missing  he  was  here ; 
I  dare  be  bound  he  's  true  and  shall  perform 
All  parts  of  his  subjection  loyally.     For  Cloten, 
There  wants  no  diligence  in  seeking  him,  20 

And  will,  no  doubt,  be  found. 

Cymbeline.  The  time  is  troublesome. — 

\To  Pisanio}  We  '11  slip  you  for  a  season;  but  our  jealousy 
Does  yet  depend. 

i  Lord.  So  please  your  majesty, 

The  Roman  legions,  all  from  Gallia  drawn, 
Are  landed  on  your  coast,  with  a  supply 
Of  Roman  gentlemen  by  the  senate  sent. 


ACT  IV.    SCENE  IV. 


127 


Cymbeline.  Now  for  the  counsel  of  my  son  and  queen ! 
I  am  amaz'd  with  matter. 

i  Lord.  Good  my  liege, 

Your  preparation  can  affront  no  less 

Than  what  you  hear  of;  come  more,  for  more  you  're  ready. 
The  want  is  but  to  put  those  powers  in  motion  3i 

That  long  to  move. 

Cymbeline.  I  thank  you.     Let  's  withdraw, 

And  meet  the  time  as  it  seeks  us.     We  fear  not 
What  can  from  Italy  annoy  us,  but 
We  grieve  at  chances  here. — Away  !   \Exeunt  all  but  Pisanio. 

Pisanio.  I  heard  no  letter  from  my  master  since 
I  wrote  him  Imogen  was  slain.     'T  is  strange : 
Nor  hear  I  from  my  mistress,  who  did  promise 
To  yield  me  often  tidings ;  neither  know  I 
What  is  betid  to  Cloten,  but  remain  40 

Perplex'd  in  all.     The  heavens  still  must  work. 
Wherein  I  am  false  I  am  honest;  not  true,  to  be  true. 
These  present  wars  shall  find  I  love  my  country, 
Even  to  the  note  o'  the  king,  or  I  '11  fall  in  them. 
All  other  doubts,  by  time  let  them  be  clear'd  ; 
Fortune  brings  in  some  boats  that  are  not  steer'd.         [Exit. 

SCENE  IV.     Wales :  before  the  Cave  of  Belarius. 
Enter  BELARIUS,  GUIDERIUS,  and  ARVIRAGUS. 

Guiderius.  The  noise  is  round  about  us. 

Belarius.  Let  us  from  it. 

Arviragus.  What  pleasure,  sir,  find  we  in  life,  to  lock  it 
From  action  and  adventure  ? 

Guiderius.  Nay,  what  hope 

Have  we  in  hiding  us  ?     This  way,  the  Romans 
Must  or  for  Britons  slay  us,  or  receive  us 
For  barbarous  and  unnatural  revolts 
During  their  use,  and  slay  us  after. 


12g  CYMBELINE. 

Belarius.  Sons, 

We  '11  higher  to  the  mountains,  there  secure  us. 
To  the  king's  party  there  's  no  going ;  newness 
Of  Cloten's  death — we  being  not  known,  not  muster'd 
Among  the  bands — may  drive  us  to  a  render 
Where  we  have  liv'd,  and  so  extort  from  's  that 
Which  we  have  done,  whose  answer  would  be  death 
Drawn  on  with  torture. 

Guiderius.  That  is,  sir,  a  doubt 

In  such  a  time  nothing  becoming  you, 
Nor  satisfying  us. 

Arviragus.  It  is  not  likely 

That  when  they  hear  the  Roman  horses  neigh, 
Behold  their  quarter'd  fires,  have  both  their  eyes 
And  ears  so  cloy'd  importantly  as  now, 
That  they  will  waste  their  time  upon  our  note, 
To  know  from  whence  we  are. 

Belarius.  O,  I  am  known 

Of  many  in  the  army;  many  years, 
^Though  Cloten  then  but  young,  you  see,  not  wore  him 
|  From  my  remembrance.     And,  besides,  the  king 
'    Hath  not  deserv'd  my  service  nor  your  loves, 

Who  find  in  my  exile  the  want  of  breeding, 
'  The  certainty  of  this  hard  life ;  aye  hopeless 
To  have  the  courtesy  your  cradle  promis'd, 
But  to  be  still  hot  summer's  tanlings  and 
The  shrinking  slaves  of  winter. 

Guiderius.  Than  be  so 

Better  to  cease  to  be.     Pray,  sir,  to  the  army : 
I  and  my  brother  are  not  known ;  yourself 
So  out  of  thought,  and  thereto  so  o'ergrown, 
Cannot  be  question'd. 

Arviragus.  By  this  sun  that  shines, 

I  '11  thither !    What  thing  is  it  that  I  never 
Did  see  man  die !  scarce  ever  look'd  on  blood, 


ACT  IF.    SCENE 


129 


But  that  of  coward  hares,  hot  goats,  and  venison  ! 

Never  bestrid  a  horse,  save  one  that  had 

A  rider  like  myself,  who  ne'er  wore  rowel 

Nor  iron  on  his  heel !     I  am  asham'd  4o 

To  look  upon  the  holy  sun,  to  have 

The  benefit  of  his  blest  beams,  remaining 

So  long  a  poor  unknown. 

Guiderius.  By  heavens,  I  '11  go! 

If  you  will  bless  me,  sir,  and  give  me  leave, 
I  '11  take  the  better  care ;  but  if  you  will  not, 
The  hazard  therefore  due  fall  on  me  by 
The  hands  of  Romans  ! 

Arviragus.  So  say  I ;  amen  ! 

Belarius.   No  reason  I,  since  of  your  lives  you  set 
So  slight  a  valuation,  should  reserve 

My  crack'cl  one  to  more  care.     Have  with  you,  boys  !          So 
If  in  your  country  wars  you  chance  to  die, 
That  is  my  bed  too,  lads,  and  there  I  '11  lie. 
Lead,  lead.  —  [Aside]    The   time   seems   long;    their  blood 

thinks  scorn, 
Till  it  fly  out  and  show  them  princes  born.  \Exeunt. 


v 


IACHIMO   AND    POSTHUMUS   (SCENE   II.). 


ACT  V. 

SCENE  I.     Britain.     The  Roman  Camp. 
Enter  POSTHUMUS,  with  a  bloody  handkerchief. 

Posthumus.  Yea,  bloody  cloth,  I  '11  keep  thee,  for  I  wish'd 
Thou  shouldst  be  colour'd  thus.     You  married  ones, 
If  each  of  you  should  take  this  course,  how  many 
Must  murther  wives  much  better  than  themselves 
For  wrying  but  a  little  ! — O  Pisanio  ! 
Every  good  servant  does  not  all  commands ; 
No  bond  but  to  do  just  ones. — Gods  !  if  you 
Should  have  ta'en  vengeance  on  my  faults,  I  never 
Had  liv'd  to  put  on  this ;  so  had  you  sav'd 
The  noble  Imogen  to  repent,  and  struck  10 


ACT  V.    SCENE  II.  j^i 

Me,  wretch  more  worth  your  vengeance.     But,  alack  ! 

You  snatch  some  hence  for  little  faults;  that  's  love, 

To  have  them  fall  no  more :  you  some  permit 

To  second  ills  with  ills,  each  elder  worse, 

And  make  them  dread  it,  to  the  doers'  thrift. 

But  Imogen  is  your  own ;  do  your  best  wills, 

And  make  me  blest  to  obey !     I  am  brought  hither 

Among  the  Italian  gentry,  and  to  fight 

Against  my  lady's  kingdom.     'T  is  enough 

That,  Britain,  I  have  kill'd  thy  mistress;  peace  !  20 

I  '11  give  no  wound  to  thee.     Therefore,  good  heavens, 

Hear  patiently  my  purpose.     I  '11  disrobe  me 

Of  these  Italian  weeds  and  suit  myself 

As  does  a  Briton  peasant :  so  I  '11  fight 

Against  the  part  I  come  with;  so  I  '11  die 

For  thee,  O  Imogen,  even  for  whom  my  life 

Is  every  breath  a  death ;  and  thus,  unknown, 

Pitied  nor  hated,  to  the  face  of  peril 

Myself  I  '11  dedicate.     Let  me  make  men  know 

More  valour  in  me  than  my  habits  show.  30 

Gods,  put  the  strength 'o'  the  Leonati  in  me ! 

To  shame  the  guise  o'  the  world,  I  will  begin 

The  fashion,  less  without  and  more  within.  [Exit. 

SCENE  II.     Field  of  battle  between  the  British  and  Roman 

Camps. 

Enter,  from  one  side,  Lucius,  IACHIMO,  and  the  Roman  Army ; 
from  the  other  side,  the  British  Army ;  LEONATUS  POSTHU- 
U\3S  following,  like  a  poor  soldier.  They  march  over  and  go 
out.  Then  enter  again,  in  skirmish,  IACHIMO  and  POSTHU- 
MUS  ;  he  vanquisheth  and  disarmeth  IACHIMO,  and  then  leaves 
him. 

lachimo.  The  heaviness  and  guilt  within  my  bosom 
Takes  off  my  manhood.     I  have  belied  a  lady, 


132 


CYMBELINE. 


The  princess  of  this  country,  and  the  air  on  \ 

Revengingly  enfeebles  me  ;  or  could  this  carl, 

A  very  drudge  of  nature's,  have  subdued  me 

In  my  profession  ?     Knighthoods  and  honours,  borne 

As  I  wear  mine,  are  titles  but  of  scorn. 

If  that  thy  gentry,  Britain,  go  before 

This  lout  as  he  exceeds  our  lords,  the  odds  9 

Is  that  we  scarce  are  men  and  you  are  gods.  [Exit. 

The  battle  continues;  the  Britons  fly;  CYMBELINE  is  taken: 
then  enter,  to  his  rescue,  BELARIUS,  GUIDERIUS,  and  ARVIRA- 

GUS. 

Belarius.   Stand,  stand  !     We  have  the  advantage  of  the 

ground. 

The  lane  is  guarded;  nothing  routs  us  but 
The  villany  of  our  fears. 


Guiderius. 
Arviragus. 


Stand,  stand,  and  fight ! 


Re-enter  POSTHUMUS,  and  seconds  the  Britons ;    they  rescue 

CYMBELINE,  and  exeunt.     Then  re-enter  Lucius  and  IACH- 

IMO,  with  IMOGEN. 

Lucius.  Away,  boy,  from  the  troops,  and  save  thyself; 
For  friends  kill  friends,  and  the  disorder  's  such 
As  war  were  hoodwink'd. 

lachimo.  'T  is  their  fresh  supplies. 

Lucius.  It  is  a  day  turn'd  strangely;  or  betimes 
Let  's  reinforce,  or  fly.  \Exeunt. 

SCENE  III.     Another  Part  of  the  Field. 
Enter  POSTHUMUS  and  a  British  Lord. 

Lord.  Cam'st  thou  from  where  they  made  the  stand  ? 
Posthumus.  I  did; 

Though  you,  it  seems,  come  from  the  fliers. 


ACT  V.    SCEA'E  III.  I33 

Lord.  I  did. 

Posthumus.  No  blame  be  to  you,  sir;  for  all  was  lost, 
But  that  the  heavens  fought.     The  king  himself 
Of  his  wings  destitute,  the  army  broken, 
And  but  the  backs  of  Britons  seen,  all  flying 
Through  a  strait  lane ;  the  enemy  full-hearted, 
Lolling  the  tongue  with  slaughtering,  having  work 
More  plentiful  than  tools  to  do  Jt,  struck  down 
Some  mortally,  some  slightly  touch'd,  some  falling  10 

Merely  through  fear;  that  the  strait  pass  was  clamm'd 
With  dead  men  hurt  behind,  and  cowards  living 
To  die  with  lengthen'd  shame. 

Lord.  Where  was  this  lane? 

Posthumus.  Close. by  the  battle,  ditch'd,  and  wall'd  with 

turf; 

Which  gave  advantage  to  an  ancient  soldier, — 
An  honest  one,  I  warrant, — who  deserv'd 
So  long  a  breeding  as  his  white  beard  came  to, 
In  doing  this  for  's  country.     Athwart  the  lane, 
He,  with  two  striplings — lads  more  like  to  run 
The  country  base  than  to  commit  such  slaughter;  20 

With  faces  fit  for  masks,  or  rather  fairer 
Than  those  for  preservation  cas'd,  or  shame, — • 
Made  good  the  passage,  cried  to  those  that  fled, 
4  Our  Britain's  harts  die  flying,  not  our  men ; 
To  darkness  fleet  souls  that  fly  backwards.     Stand! 
Or  we  are  Romans  and  will  give  you  that 
Like  beasts  which  you  shun  beastly,  and  may  save, 
But  to  look  back  in  frown :  stand,  stand  !' — These  three, 
Three  thousand  confident,  in  act  as  many — 
For  three  performers  are  the  file  when  all  30 

The  rest  do  nothing — with  this  word  '  Stand,  stand/ 
Accommodated  by  the  place,  more  charming 
With  their  own  nobleness,  which  could  have  turn'd 
A  distaff  to  a  lance,  gilded  pale  looks, 


I34  CYMBELINE. 

Part  shame,  part  spirit  renew'd;  that  some,  turn'd  coward 

But  by  example — O,  a  sin  in  war, 

Damn'd  in  the  first  beginners! — gan  to  look 

The  way  that  they  did,  and  to  grin  like  lions 

Upon  the  pikes  o'  the  hunters.     Then  began 

A  stop  i'  the  chaser,  a  retire,  anon  40 

A  rout,  confusion  thick;  forthwith  they  fly 

Chickens,  the  way  which  they  stoop'd  eagles;  slaves, 

The  strides  they  victors  made.     And  now  our  cowards, 

Like  fragments  in  hard  voyages,  became 

The  life  o'  the  need;  having  found  the  back-door  open 

Of  the  unguarded  hearts,  heavens,  how  they  wound ! 

Some  slain  before,  some  dying,  some  their  friends 

O'er-borne  i'  the  former  wave;  ten,  chas'd  by  one, 

Are  now  each  one  the  slaughter-man  of  twenty: 

Those  that  would  die  or  ere  resist  are  grown  50 

The  mortal  bugs  o'  the  field. 

Lord.  This  was  strange  chance: 

A  narrow  lane,  an  old  man,  and  two  boys. 

Posthumus.  Nay,  do  not  wonder  at  it ;  you  are  made 
Rather  to  wonder  at  the  things  you  hear 
Than  to  work  any.     Will  you  rhyme  upon  't, 
And  vent  it  for  a  mockery?     Here  is  one: 
(     'Two  boys,  an  old  man  twice  a  boy,  a  lane, 
\  Preserv'd  the  Britons,  was  the  Romans'  bane/ 

Lord.  Nay,  be  not  angry,  sir. 

Posthumus.  'Lack,  to  what  end  ? 

Who  dares  not  stand  his  foe,  I  '11  be  his  friend ;  60 

For  if  he  '11  do  as  he  is  made  to  do, 
I  know  he  '11  quickly  fly  my  friendship  too. 
You  have  put  me  into  rhyme. 

Lord.  Farewell;  you  're  angry. 

Posthumus.  Still  going? — [Exit  Lordl\     This  is   a  lord ! 

O  noble  misery, 
To  be  i'  the  field,  and  ask  'what  news?'  of  me! 


ACT  V.    SCEA^E  III.  j-e 

To-day  how  many  would  have  given  their  honours 

To  have  sav'd  their  carcases!  took  heel  to  do  't, 

And  yet  died  too!  I,  in  mine  own  woe  charm'd, 

Could  not  find  death  where  I  did  hear  him  groan, 

Nor  feel  him  where  he  struck.     Being  an  ugly  monster,       70 

'T  is  strange  he  hides  him  in  fresh  cups,  soft  beds, 

Sweet  words,  or  hath  moe  ministers  than  we 

That  draw  his  knives  i'  the  war.     Well,  I  will  find  him; 

For  being  now  a  favourer  to  the  Briton, 

No  more  a  Briton,  I  have  resum'd  again 

The  part  I  came  in.     Fight  I  will  no  more, 

But  yield  me  to  the  veriest  hind  that  shall 

Once  touch  my  shoulder.     Great  the  slaughter  is 

Here  made  by  the  Roman;  great  the  answer  be 

Britons  must  take.     For  me,  my  ransom  ?s  death ;  80 

On  either  side  I  come  to  spend  my  breath, 

Which  neither  here  I  '11  keep  nor  bear  again, 

But  end  it  by  some  means  for  Imogen. 

Enter  two  British  Captains  and  Soldiers. 

1  Captain.  Great  Jupiter  be  prais'd!  Lucius  is  taken. 
'T  is  thought  the  old  man  and  his  sons  were  angels. 

2  Captain.  There  was  a  fourth  man,  in  a  silly  habit, 
That  gave  the  affront  with  them. 

1  Captain.  So  't  is  reported  ; 
But  none  of 'em  can  be  found. — Stand!  who  's  there? 

Posthumus.  A  Roman, 

Who  had  not  now  been  drooping  here  if  seconds  <P 

Had  answer'd  him. 

2  Captain.  Lay  hands  on  him;  a  dog! 
A  leg  of  Rome  shall  not  return  to  tell 

What  crows  have  peck'd  them  here.     He  brags  his-  service 
As  if  he  were  of  note.     Bring  him  to  the  king. 


136 


CYMBELINE. 


Enter  CYMBELINE,  BELARIUS,  GUIDERIUS,  ARVIRAGUS,  Pi- 
SANIO,  Soldiers,  Attendants,  and  Roman  Captives.  The 
Captains  present  POSTHUMUS  to  CYMBELINE,  who  delivers 
him  over  to  a  Gaoler ;  then  exeunt  omnes. 

SCENE  IV.     A  British  Prison. 
Enter  POSTHUMUS  and  two  Gaolers. 

1  Gaoler.  You   shall  not  now  be  stol'n,  you  have  locks 

upon  you; 
So  graze  as  you  find  pasture. 

2  Gaoler.  Ay,  or  a  stomach. 

\Exeunt  Gaolers. 

Posthumus.  Most  welcome,  bondage !  for  thou  art  a  way, 
I  think,  to  liberty;  yet  am  I  better 
Than  one  that 's  sick  o'  the  gout,  since  he  had  rather 
Groan  so  in  perpetuity  than  be  cur'd 
By  the  sure  physician,  death,  who  is  the  key 
To  unbar  these  locks.     My  conscience,  thou  art  fetter'd 
More   than   my  shanks    and   wrists;   you  good  gocls,  give 

me 

The  penitent  instrument  to  pick  that  bolt,  10 

Then,  free  for  ever!     Is  't  enough  I  am  sorry? 
So  children  temporal  fathers  do  appease ; 
Gods  are  more  full  of  mercy.     Must  I  repent? 
I  cannot  do  it  better  than  in  gyves, 
Desir'd  more  than  constraint ;  to  satisfy, 
If  of  my  freedom  ?t  is  the  main  part,  take 
No  stricter  render  of  me  than  my  all. 
I  know  you  are  more  clement  than  vile  men, 
Who  of  their  broken  debtors  take  a  third, 
A  sixth,  a  tenth,  letting  them  thrive  again  20 

On  their  abatement;  that 's  not  my  desire. 
For  Imogen's  dear  life  take  mine:  and  though 


ACT  V.     SCENE  IV.  !37 

'T  is  not  so  dear,  yet 't  is  a  life  ;  you  coin'd  it. 

'Tween  man  and  man  they  weigh  not  every  stamp ; 

Though  light,  take  pieces  for  the  figure's  sake: 

You  rather  mine,  being  yours;  and  so,  great  powers, 

If  you  will  take  this  audit,  take  this  life, 

And  cancel  these  cold  bonds. — O  Imogen ! 

I  '11  speak  to  thee  in  silence.  \Sleeps. 

Solemn  music.  Enter,  as  in  an  apparition,  SICILIUS  LEONA- 
Ttrs,  father  to  Posthumus,  an  old  man,  attired  like  a  warrior; 
leading  in  his  hand  an  ancient  matron,  his  wife,  and  mother 
to  Posthumus,  with  music  before  them :  then,  after  other  music, 
follow  the  two  young  LEONATI,  brothers  to  Posthumus,  with 
wounds  as  they  died  in  the  wars.  They  circle  POSTHUMUS 
round  as  he  lies  sleeping. 

Sicilius.  No  more,  thou  thunder-master,  show  30 

Thy  spite  on  mortal  flies; 
With  Mars  fall  out,  with  Juno  chide, 

That  thy  adulteries 

Rates  and  revenges. 
Hath  my  poor  boy  done  aught  but  well, 

Whose  face  I  never  saw? 
I  died  whilst  in  the  womb  he  stay'd 

Attending  nature's  law; 
Whose  father  then- — as  men  report 

Thou  orphans'  father  art —  40 

Thou  shouldst  have  been,  and  shielded  him 

From  this  earth-vexing  smart. 

Mother.   Lucina  lent  not  me  her  aid, 

But  took  me  in  my  throes; 
That  from  me  was  Posthumus  ript, 
Came  crying  'mongst  his  foes, 
A  thing  of  pity  1 


138  CYMBELINE. 

Sicilius.  Great  nature,  like  his  ancestry, 

Moulded  the  stuff  so  fair, 

That  he  deserv'd  the  praise  o'  the  world,  & 

As  great  Sicilius'  heir. 

1  Brother.  When  once  he  was  mature  for  man, 

In  Britain  where  was  he 
That  could  stand  up  his  parallel, 

Or  fruitful  object  be 
In  eye  of  Imogen,  that  best 

Could  deem  his  dignity? 

Mother.  With  marriage  wherefore  was  he  mock'd, 

To  be  exil'd,  and  thrown 

From  Leonati  seat,  and  cast  60 

From  her  his  dearest  one, 
Sweet  Imogen? 

Sicilius.  Why  did  you  suffer  lachimo, 

Slight  thing  of  Italy, 
To  taint  his  nobler  heart  and  brain 

With  needless  jealousy; 
And  to  become  the  geek  and  scorn 

O'  the  other's  villany? 

2  Brother.  For  this  from  stiller  seats  we  came, 

Our  parents  and  us  twain,  7° 

That  striking  in  our  country's  cause 

Fell  bravely  and  were  slain, 
Our  fealty  and  Tenantius'  right 

With  honour  to  maintain. 

i  Brother.  Like  hardiment  Posthumus  hath 

To  Cymbeline  perform'd; 
Then,  Jupiter,  thou  king  of  gods, 

Why  hast  thou  thus  adjourn'd 
The  graces  for  his  merits  clue, 

Being  all  to  dolours  turn'cl?  So 


ACT   V.     SCENE  IV.  I39 

Sicilius.  Thy  crystal  window  ope,  look  out ; 

No  longer  exercise 
Upon  a  valiant  race  thy  harsh 
And  potent  injuries. 

Mother.   Since,  Jupiter,  our  son  is  good, 
Take  off  his  miseries. 

Sicilius.  Peep  through  thy  marble  mansion;  help! 

Or  we  poor  ghosts  will  cry 
To  the  shining  synod  of  the  rest 

Against  thy  deity.    •  90      . 

Both  Brothers.  Help,  Jupiter;  or  we  appeal, 
And  from  thy  justice  fly. 

JUPITER  descends  in  thunder  and  lightning,  sitting  upon  an 
eagle;  he  throws  a  thunderbolt.  The  Ghosts  fall  on  their 
knees. 

Jupiter.  No  more,  you  petty  spirits  of  region  low, 

Offend  our  hearing;  hush! — How  dare  you  ghosts 
Accuse  the  thunderer,  whose  bolt,  you  know, 

Sky-planted,  batters  all  rebelling  coasts? 
Poor  shadows  of  Elysium,  hence,  and  rest 

Upon  your  never-withering  banks  of  flowers : 
Be  not  with  mortal  accidents  opprest ; 

No  care  of  yours  it  is  ;  you  know  't  is  ours.  roo 

Whom  best  I  love  I  cross;  to  make  my  gift, 

The  more  delay'd,  delighted.     Be  content; 
Your  low-laid  son  our  godhead  will  uplift: 

His  comforts  thrive,  his  trials  well  are  spent. 
Our  Jovial  star  reign'd  at  his  birth,  and  in 

Our  temple  was  he  married.     Rise,  and  fade. 
He  shall  be  lord  of  lady  Imogen, 

And  happier  much  by  his  affliction  made. 


140 


CYMBELINE. 


This  tablet  lay  upon  his  breast,  wherein 

Our  pleasure  his  full  fortune  doth  confine;  no 

And  so,  away!  no  further  with  your  din 

Express  impatience,  lest  you  stir  up  mine. — 

Mount,  eagle,  to  my  palace  crystalline.  [Ascends. 

Sicilius.   He  came  in  thunder;  his  celestial  breath 
Was  sulphurous  to  smell:  the  holy  eagle 
Stoop'd,  as  to  foot  us.     His  ascension  is 
More  sweet  than  our  blest  fields;  his  royal  bird 
Prunes  the  immortal  wing  and  cloys  his  beak, 
As  when  his  god  is  pleas'd.   . 

All.  Thanks,  Jupiter! 

Sicilius.  The  marble  pavement  closes,  he  is  enter'd         120 
His  radiant  roof. — Away!  and,  to  be  blest, 
Let  us  with  care  perform  his  great  behest. 

[The  Ghosts  vanish, 

Posthumus.  [  Waking\  Sleep,  thou  hast  been  a  grandsire, 

and  begot 

A  father  to  me;  and  thou  hast  created 
A  mother  and  two  brothers.     But,  O  scorn  ! 
Gone !  they  went  hence  so  soon  as  they  were  born ; 
And  so  I  am  awake. — Poor  wretches  that  depend 
On  greatness'  favour  dream  as  I  have  done, 
Wake  and  find  nothing. — But,  alas,  I  swerve: 
Many  dream  not  to  find,  neither  deserve,  130 

And  yet  are  steep'd  in  favours;  so  am  I, 
That  have  this  golden  chance  and  know  not  why. 
What  fairies  haunt  this  ground?     A  book?     O  rare  one! 
Be  not,  as  is  our  fangled  world,  a  garment 
Nobler  than  that  it  covers ;  let  thy  effects 
So  follow,  to  be  most  unlike  our  courtiers, 
As  good  as  promise. 

[Reads]  '  Whenas  a  lion's  whelp  shall,  to  himself  unknown, 
without  seeking  find,  and  be  embraced '_  by  a  piece  of  tender  air  ; 
and  when  from  a  stately  cedar  shall  be  lopped  branches,  which, 


ACT  V.     SCENE  IV.  14! 

being  dead  many  years,  shall  after  revive,  be  jointed  to  the  old 
stock,  and  freshly  grow;  then  shall  Posthumus  end  his  miseries, 
Britain  be  fortunate  and  flourish  in  peace  and  plenty?  143 

T  is  still  a  dream,  or  else  such  stuff  as  madmen 
Tongue  and  brain  not;  either  both  or  nothing; 
Or  senseless  speaking  or  a  speaking  such 
As  sense  cannot  untie.     Be  what  it  is, 
The  action  of  my  life  is  like  it,  which 
I  '11  keep,  if  but  for  sympathy. 

Re-enter  Gaolers. 

i  Gaoler.  Come,  sir,  are  you  ready  for  death?  150 

Posthumus.   Over-roasted  rather;  ready  long  ago. 

i  Gaoler.  Hanging  is  the  word,  sir;  if  you  be  ready  for 
that,  you  are  well  cooked. 

Posthumus.  So,  if  I  prove  a  good  repast  to  the  spectators, 
the  dish  pays  the  shot. 

i  Gaoler.  A  heavy  reckoning  for  you,  sir.  But  the  com- 
fort is,  you  shall  be  called  to  no  more  payments,  fear  no  more 
tavern-bills,  which  are  often  the  sadness  of  parting,  as  the 
procuring  of  mirth.  You  come  in  faint  for  want  of  meat,  de- 
part reeling  with  too  much  drink;  sorry  that  you  have  paid 
too  much,  and  sorry  that  you  are  paid  too  much ;  purse  and 
brain  both  empty;  the  brain  the  heavier  for  being  too  light, 
the  purse  too  light,  being  drawn  of  heaviness:  of  this  con- 
tradiction you  shall  now  be  quit.  O,  the  charity  of  a  penny 
cord!  it  sums  up  thousands  in  a  trice:  you  have  no  true 
debitor  and  creditor  but  it;  of  what  's  past,  is,  and  to  come, 
the  discharge. — Your  neck,  sir,  is  pen,  book,  and  counters ; 
so  the  acquittance  follows.  168 

Posthumus.  I  am  merrier  to  die  than  thou  art  to  live. 

i  Gaoler.  Indeed,  sir,  he  that  sleeps  feels  not  the  toothache  : 
but  a  man  that  were  to  sleep  your  sleep,  and  a  hangman  to 
help  him  to  bed,  I  think  he  would  change  places  with  his  offi- 
cer; for,  look  you,  sir,  you  know  not  which  way  you  shall  go. 


142 


CYMBELINE. 


Posthumus.  Yes,  indeed  do  I,  fellow. 

i  Gaoler.  Your  death  has  eyes  in  's  head  then  ;  I  have 
not  seen  him  so  pictured.  You  must  either  be  directed  by 
some  that  take  upon  them  to  know,  or  take  upon  yourself 
that  which  I  am  sure  you  do  not  know,  or  jump  the  after  in- 
quiry on  your  own  peril ;  and  how  you  shall  speed  in  your 
journey's  end,  I  think  you  '11  never  return  to  tell  one.  i&> 

Posthumus.  I  tell  thee,  fellow,  there  are  none  want  eyes  to 
direct  them  the  way  I  am  going,  but  such  as  wink  and  will 
not  use  them. 

i  Gaoler.  What  an  infinite  mock  is  this,  that  a  man  should 
have  the  best  use  of  eyes  to  see  the  way  of  blindness!  I  am 
sure  hanging  's  the  way  of  winking. 

Enter  a  Messenger. 

Messenger.  Knock  off  his  manacles;  bring  your  prisoner 
to  the  king. 

Posthumus.  Thou  bring'st  good  news;  I  am  called  to  be 
made  free.  190 

i  Gaoler.  I  '11  be  hanged  then. 

Posthumus.  Thou  shalt  be  then  freer  than  a  gaoler;  no 
bolts  for  the  dead.  [Exeunt  all  but  i  Gaoler. 

i  Gaoler.  Unless  a  man  would  marry  a  gallows  and  beget 
young  gibbets,  I  never  saw  one  so  prone.  Yet,  on  my  con- 
science, there  are  verier  knaves  desire  to  live,  for  all  he  be  a 
Roman  :  and  there  be  some  of  them  too  that  die  against 
their  wills ;  so  should  I,  if  I  were  one.  I  would  we  were  all 
of  one  mind,  and  one  mind  good.  O,  there  were  desolation 
of  gaolers  and  gallowses!  I  speak  against  my  present  prof- 
it, but  my  wish  hath  a  preferment  in  't.  [Exit. 


ACT  V.     SCEA^E  V. 


SCENE  V.     Cymbeline1  s  Tent. 

Enter  CYMBELINE,  BELARIUS,  GUIDERIUS,  ARVIRAGUS,  PISA- 
NIO,  Lords,  Officers,  and  Attendants. 

Cymbeline.  Stand  by  my  side,  you  whom  the  gods  have 

made 

Preservers  of  my  throne.     Woe  is  my  heart 
That  the  poor  soldier  that  so  richly  fought, 
Whose  rags  sham'd  gilded  arms,  whose  naked  breast 
Stepp'cl  before  targes  of  proof,  cannot  be  found. 
He  shall  be  happy  that  can  find  him,  if 
Our  grace  can  make  him  so. 

Belarius.  I  never  saw 

Such  noble  fury  in  so  poor  a  thing, 
Such  precious  deeds  in  one  that  promis'd  nought 
But  beggary  and  poor  looks. 

Cymbeline.  No  tidings  of  him  ?  10 

Pisanio.   He  hath  been  search'd  among  the  dead  and  liv- 
ing, 
But  no  trace  of  him. 

Cymbeline.  To  my  grief,  I  am 

The  heir  of  his  reward  ;  \To  Belarius,  Guiderius,  and  Arvira- 

gus\  which  I  will  add 

To  you,  the  liver,  heart,  and  brain  of  Britain, 
By  whom  I  grant  she  lives.     'T  is  now  the  time 
To  ask  of  whence  you  are.     Report  it. 

Belarius.  Sir, 

In  Cambria  are  we  born,  and  gentlemen. 
Further  to  boast  were  neither  true  nor  modest, 
Unless  I  add,  we  are  honest. 

Cymbeline.  Bow  your  knees. 

Arise  my  knights  o'  the  battle;  I  create  you  20 

Companions  to  our  person,  and  will  fit  you 
With  dignities  becoming  your  estates. 


144  CYMBELINE. 

Enter  CORNELIUS  and  Ladies. 
There  's  business  in  these  faces. — Why  so  sadly 
Greet  you  our  victory?  you  look  like  Romans, 
And  not  o'  the  court  of  Britain. 

Cornelius.  Hail,  great  king ( 

To  sour  your  happiness,  I  must  report 
The  queen  is  dead. 

Cymbeline.  Who  worse  than  a  physician 

Would  this  report  become?  But  I  consider, 
By  medicine  life  may  be  prolonged,  yet  death 
Will  seize  the  doctor  too. — How  ended  she?  30 

Cornelius.  With  horror,  madly  dying,  like  her  life, 
Which,  being  cruel  to  the  world,  concluded 
Most  cruel  to  herself.     What  she  confess'd 
I  will  report,  so  please  you;  these  her  women 
Can  trip  me,  if  I  err,  who  with  wet  cheeks 
Were  present  when  she  finished. 

Cymbeline.  Prithee,  say. 

Cornelius.  First,  she  confess'd  she  never  lov'd  you,  only 
Affected  greatness  got  by  you,  not  you; 
Married  your  royalty,  was  wife  to  your  place, 
Abhorr'd  your  person. 

Cymbeline.  She  alone  knew  this;  40 

And,  but  she  spoke  it  dying,  I  would  not 
Believe  her  lips  in  opening  it.     Proceed. 

Cornelius.  Your  daughter,  whom  she  bore  in  hand  to  love 
With  such  integrity,  she  did  confess 
Was  as  a  scorpion  to  her  sight;  whose  life, 
But  that  her  flight  prevented  it,  she  had 
Ta'en  off  by  poison. 

Cymbeline.  O  most  delicate  fiend! 

Who  is  't  can  read  a  woman  ? — Is  there  more  ? 

Cornelius.  More,  sir,  and  worse.     She  did  confess  she  had 
For  you  a  mortal  mineral,  which,  being  took,  50 


ACT  V.     SCENE  V.  !45 

Should  by  the  minute  feed  on  life  and  lingering 

By  inches  waste  you ;  in  which  time  she  purpos'd, 

By  watching,  weeping,  tendance,  kissing,  to 

O'ercome  you  with  her  show,  and  in  time, 

When  she  had  fitted  you  with  her  craft,  to  work 

Her  son  into  the  adoption  of  the  crown  : 

But,  failing  of  her  end  by  his  strange  absence, 

Grew  shameless-desperate;  open'd,  in  despite 

Of  heaven  and  men,  her  purposes  ;  repented 

The  evils  she  hatch'd  were  not  effected;  so  60 

Despairing  died. 

Cymbeline.  Heard  you  all  this,  her  women  ? 

i  Lady.  We  did,  so  please  your  highness. 

Cymbeline.  Mine  eyes 

Were  not  in  fault,  for  she  was  beautiful; 
Mine  ears,  that  heard  her  flattery,  nor  my  heart, 
That  thought  her  like  her  seeming;  it  had  been  vicious 
To  have  mistrusted  her:  yet,  O  my  daughter! 
That  it  was  folly  in  me,  thou  mayst  say, 
And  prove  it  in  thy  feeling.     Heaven  mend  all ! 

Enter  Lucius,  IACHIMO,  the  Soothsayer,  and  other  Roman 

prisoners,  £#0rdfe/;  POSTHUMUS  behind,  and  IMOGEN. 
Thou  com'st  not,  Caius,  now  for  tribute;  that 
The  Britons  have  raz'd  out,  though  with  the  loss  70 

Of  many  a  bold  one ;  whose  kinsmen  have  made  suit 
That  their  good  souls  may  be  appeas'd  with  slaughter 
Of  you  their  captives,  which  ourself  have  granted: 
So  think  of  your  estate. 

Lucius.  Consider,  sir,  the  chance  of  war  :  the  day 
Was  yours  by  accident ;  had  it  gone  with  us, 
We  should  not,  when  the  blood  was  cool,  have  threaten'd 
Our  prisoners  with  the  sword.     But  since  the  gods 
Will  have  it  thus,  that  nothing  but  our  lives 
May  be  call'd  ransom,  let  it  come;  sufficeth  So 

K 


I46  CYMBELINE. 

A  Roman  with  a  Roman's  heart  can  suffer. 

Augustus  lives  to  think  on  't ;  and  so  much 

For  my  peculiar  care.     This  one  thing  only 

I  will  entreat:  my  boy,  a  Briton  born, 

Let  him  be  ransom'd;  never  master  had 

A  page  so  kind,  so  duteous,  diligent, 

So  tender  over  his  occasions,  true, 

So  feat,  so  nurse-like.     Let  his  virtue  join 

With  my  request,  which  I  '11  make  bold  your  highness 

Cannot  deny ;  he  hath  done  no  Briton  harm,  9< 

Though  he  have  serv'd  a  Roman.     Save  him,  sir, 

And  spare  no  blood  beside. 

Cymbeline.  I  have  surely  seen  him  ; 

His  favour  is  familiar  to  me. — Boy, 
Thou  hast  look'd  thyself  into  my  grace, 
And  art  mine  own.     I  know  not  why  nor  wherefore, 
To  say  live,  boy:  ne'er  thank  thy  master;  live. 
And  ask  of  Cymbeline  what  boon  thou  wilt, 
Fitting  my  bounty  and  thy  state,  I  '11  give  it; 
Yea,  though  thou  do  demand  a  prisoner, 
The  noblest  ta'en. 

Imogen.  I  humbly  thank  your  highness.  i<* 

Lucius.  I  do  not  bid  thee  beg  my  life,  good  lad  ; 
And  yet  I  know  thou  wilt. 

Imogen.  No,  no:  alack, 

There  's  other  work  in  hand. — I  see  a  thing 
Bitter  to  me  as  death. — Your  life,  good  master, 
Must  shuffle  for  itself. 

Lucius.  The  boy  disdains  me, 

He  leaves  me,  scorns  me;  briefly  die  their  joys 
That  place  them  on  the  truth  of  girls  and  boys. — 
Why  stands  he  so  perplex'd? 

Cymbeline.  What  wouldst  thou,  boy  ? 

I  love  thee  more  and  more  ;  think  more  and  more 
What 's  best  to  ask.     Know'st  him  thou  look'st  on  ?  speak. 
Wilt  have  him  live?     Is  he  thv  kin  ?  thv  friend?  n 


ACT  V.    SCENE   V. 


147 


Imogen.  He  is  a  Roman  j  no  more  kin  to  me 
Than  I  to  your  highness,  who,  being  born  your  vassal, 
Am  something  nearer. 

Cymbeline.  Wherefore  eyest  him  so? 

Imogen.  I  '11  tell  you,  sir,  in  private,  if  you  please 
To  give  me  hearing. 

Cymbeline.  Ay,  with  all  my  heart, 

And  lend  my  best  attention.     What 's  thy  name? 

Imogen.   Fidel e,  sir. 

Cymbeline.  Thou  'rt  my  good  youth,  my  page  ; 

I  '11  be  thy  master.     Walk  with  me  ;  speak  freely. 

\Cymbeline  and  Imogen  converse  apart. 

Belarius.  Is  not  this  boy  reviv'd  from  death  ? 

Arviragus.  One  sand  another 

Not  more  resembles  that  sweet  rosy  lad  121 

Who  died,  and  was  Fidele. — What  think  you? 

Guiderius.  The  same  dead  thing  alive. 

Belarius.  Peace,  peace  !  see  further ;  he  eyes  us  not ;  for- 
bear. 

Creatures  may  be  alike ;  were  't  he,  I  am  sure 
He  would  have  spoke  to  us. 

Guiderius.  But  we  saw  him  dead. 

Belarius.  Be  silent ;  let  's  see  further. 

Pisanio.  [Aside]  It  is  my  mistress ! 

Since  she  is  living,  let  the  time  run  on 
To  good  or  bad.  [Cymbeline  and  Imogen  come  forward. 

Cymbeline.  Come,  stand  thou  by  our  side ; 

Make    thy   demand    aloud.  —  \To   Iachimo~\    Sir,  step   you 
forth ;  130 

Give  answer  to  this  boy,  and  do  it  freely, 
Or,  by  our  greatness  and  the  grace  of  it, 
Which  is  our  honour,  bitter  torture  shall 
Winnow  the  truth  from  falsehood. — On,  speak  to  him. 

Imogen.  My  boon  is,  that  this  gentleman  may  render 
Of  whom  he  had  this  ring. 


I48  CYMBELINE. 

Posthumus.  [Aside}  What  's  that  to  him  ? 

Cymbeline.  That  diamond  upon  your  finger,  say 
How  came  it  yours  ? 

lachimo.  Thou  'It  torture  me  to  leave  unspoken  that 
Which,  to  be  spoke,  would  torture  thee. 

Cymbeline.  How!  me?  140 

lachimo.  I  am  glad  to  be  constraint!  to  utter  that 
Which  torments  me  to  conceal.     By  villany 
I  got  this  ring  ;  't  was  Leonatus'  jewel, 
Whom   thou   didst   banish  ;    and — which   more   may  grieve 

thee, 

As  it  doth  me — a  nobler  sir  ne'er  liv'd 
'Twixt  sky  and  ground.     Wilt  thou  hear  more,  my  lord  ? 

Cymbeline.  All  that  belongs  to  this. 

lachimo.  That  paragon,  thy  daughter, — • 

For  whom  my  heart  drops  blood,  and  my  false  spirits 
Quail  to  remember — Give  me  leave;  I  faint. 

Cymbeline.  My    daughter!    what    of    her?      Renew    thy 
strength ;  150 

I  had  rather  thou  shouldst  live  while  nature  will 
Than  die  ere  I  hear  more.     Strive,  man,  and  speak. 

lachimo.  Upon  a  time, — unhappy  was  the  clock 
That  struck  the  hour  ! — it  was  in  Rome, — accurs'd 
The  mansion  where  ! — ?t  was  at  a  feast, — O,  would 
Our  viands  had  been  poison'd,  or  at  least 
Those  which  I  heav'd  to  head! — the  good  Posthumus — 
What  should  I  say?  he  was  too  good  to  be 
^AVhere  ill  men  were,  and  was  the  best  of  all 
S  Amongst  the  rar'st  of  good  ones, — sitting  sadly,  160 

Hearing  us  praise  our  loves  of  Italy 
VFor  beauty  that  made  barren  the  swell'd  boast 
Of  him  that  best  could  speak  ;  for  feature,  laming 
The  shrine  of  Venus,  or  straight-pight  Minerva, 
Postures  beyond  brief  nature  ;  for  condition, 
A  shop  of  all  the  qualities  that  man 


ACT  V.     SCENE  V.  149 

Loves  woman  for,  besides  that  hook  of  wiving, 
7  &' 

Fairness  which  strikes  the  eye — 

Cymbeline.  1  stand  on  fire  ; 

Come  to  the  matter. 

lachimo.  All  too  soon  I  shall, 

Unless  thou  wouldst  grieve  quickly.     This  Posthumus,      170 
Most  like  a  noble  lord  in  love  and  one 
That  had  a  royal  lover,  took  his  hint ; 
And,  not  dispraising  whom  we  prais'd, — therein 
He  was  as  calm  as  virtue — he  began 
His  mistress'  picture  ;  which  by  his  tongue  being  made, 
And  then  a  mind  put  in  't,  either  our  brags 
Were  crack'd  of  kitchen-trulls,  or  his  description 
Proved  us  unspeaking  sots. 

Cymbeline.  Nay,  nay,  to  the  purpose. 

lachimo.  Your  daughter's  chastity — there  it  begins. 
He  spake  of  her,  as  Dian  had  hot  dreams,  180 

And  she  alone  were  cold  ;  whereat  I,  wretch, 
Made  scruple  of  his  praise,  and  wager'd  with  him 
Pieces  of  gold  'gainst  this  which  then  he  wore 
Upon  his  honour'd  finger,  to  attain 
In  suit  the  place  of  's  bed  and  win  this  ring 
By  hers  and  mine  adultery.     He,  true  knight, 
No  lesser  of  her  honour  confident 
Than  I  did  truly  find  her,  stakes  this  ring; 
And  would  so,  had  it  been  a  carbuncle 

Of  Phoebus'  wheel,  and  might  so  safely,  had  it  190 

Been  all  the  worth  of  's  car.     Away  to  Britain 
Post  I  in  this  design  ;  well  may  you,  sir, 
Remember  me  at  court,  where  I  was  taught 
Of  your  chaste  daughter  the  wide  difference 
'Twixt  amorous  and  villanous.     Being  thus  quencrTd 
Of  hope,  not  longing,  mine  Italian  brain 
Gan  in  your  duller  Britain  operate 
Most  vilely, — for  my  vantage,  excellent, — 


1 50  CYMBELINE. 

And,  to  be  brief,  my  practice  so  prevail'd, 

That  I  return'd  with  simular  proof  enough  200 

To  make  the  noble  Leonatus  mad, 

By  wounding  his  belief  in  her  renown 

With  tokens  thus,  and  thus ;  averring  notes 

Of  chamber-hanging,  pictures,  this  her  bracelet, — 

0  cunning,  how  I  got  it ! — nay,  some  marks 
Of  secret  on  her  person,  that  he  coulcl  not 
But  think  her  bond  of  chastity  quite  crack'd, 

1  having  ta'en  the  forfeit.     Whereupon — 
Methinks,  I  see  him  now — 

Posthumus.    \Advandng\  Ay,  so  thou  dost, 
Italian  fiend  ! — Ay  me,  most  credulous  fool,  210 

Egregious  murtherer,  thief,  any  thing 
That  's  due  to  all  the  villains  past,  in  being, 
To  come  ! — O,  give  me  cord,  or  knife,  or  poison, 
Some  upright  justicer  !     Thou,  king,  send  out 
For  torturers  ingenious ;  it  is  I 
That  all  the  abhorred  things  o'  the  earth  amend 
By  being  worse  than  they.     I  am  Posthumus, 
That  kill'd  thy  daughter ; — villain-like,  I  lie — 
That  caused  a  lesser  villain  than  myself, 
A  sacrilegious  thief,  to  do  't :  the  temple  220 

Of  virtue  was  she, — yea,  and  she  herself. 
Spit,  and  throw  stones,  cast  mire  upon  me,  set 
The  dogs  o'  the  street  to  bay  me  ;  every  villain 
Be  call'd  Posthumus  Leonatus,  and 
Be  villany  less  than  7t  was ! — O  Imogen  ! 
My  queen,  my  life,  my  wife  !     O  Imogen, 
Imogen,  Imogen  ! 

Imogen.  Peace,  my  lord  ;  hear,  hear — 

Posthumus.  Shall 's  have  a  play  of  this  ?  Thou  scornful  page, 
There  lie  thy  part.  [Striking  her ;  she  falls. 

Pisanio.  O,  gen  tl e  m  e  n ,  h e  1  p  ! 

Mine  and  your  mistress  ! — O,  my  lord  Posthumus  !  230 


ACT  V.    SCENE  V.  j^i 

You  ne'er  kilPd  Imogen  till  now. — Help,  help  ! 
Mine  honour'd  lady! 

Cymbdine.  Does  the  world  go  round  ? 

Posthumus.  How  comes  these  staggers  on  me  ? 

Pisanio.  Wake,  my  mistress  ! 

Cymbeline.  If  this  be  so,  the  gods  do  mean  to  strike  me 
To  death  with  mortal  joy. 

Pisanio.  How  fares  my  mistress  ? 

Imogen.  O,  get  thee  from  my  sight ; 
Thou  gav'st  me  poison  :  dangerous  fellow,  hence  ! 
Breathe  not  where  princes  are. 

Cymbeline.  The  tune  of  Imogen  ! 

Pisanio.  Lady, 

The  gods  throw  stones  of  sulphur  on  me,  if  24 

That  box  I  gave  you  was  not  thought  by  me 
A  precious  thing ;  I  had  it  from  the  queen. 

Cymbeline.  New  matter  still  ? 

Imogen.  It  poison'd  me. 

Cornelius.  O  gods ! 

I  left  out  one  thing  which  the  queen  confess'd, 
Which  must  approve  thee  honest;  'If  Pisanio 
Have,'  said  she,  'given  his  mistress  that  confection 
Which  I  gave  him  for  cordial,  she  is  serv'd 
As  I  would  serve  a  rat.' 

Cymbeline.  What  's  this,  Cornelius  ? 

Cornelius.  The  queen,  sir,  very  oft  importun'd  me 
To  temper  poisons  for  her,  still  pretending  25 

The  satisfaction  of  her  knowledge  only 
In  killing  creatures  vile,  as  cats  and  dogs, 
Of  no  esteem.     I,  dreading  that  her  purpose 
Was  of  more  danger,  did  compound  for  her 
A  certain  stuff,  which,  being  ta'en,  would  cease 
The  present  power  of  life,  but  in  short  time 
All  offices  of  nature  should  again 
Do  their  due  functions. — Have  you  ta'en  of  it  ? 


I52  CYMBELINE. 

Imogen.  Most  like  I  did,  for  I  was  dead. 

Belarius.  My  boys, 

There  was  our  error. 

Guiderius.  This  is,  sure,  Fidele.  260 

Imogen.  Why    did    you    throw   your    wedded    lady   from 

you  ? 

Think  that  you  are  upon  a  rock,  and  now 
Throw  me  again.  [Embracing  him. 

Posthumus.  Hang  there  like  fruit,  my  soul, 

Till  the  tree  die ! 

Cymbeline.  How  now,  my  flesh,  my  child  ! 

What,  mak'st  thou  me  a  dullard  in  this  act? 
Wilt  thou  not  speak  to  me  ? 

Imogen.  \Kneeling\  Your  blessing,  sir. 

Belarius.  \To  Guiderius  and  Arviragus]  Though  you  did 

love  this  youth,  I  blame  ye  not; 
You  had  a  motive  for  't. 

Cymbeline.  My  tears  that  fall 

Prove  holy  water  on  thee  !     Imogen, 
Thy  mother's  dead. 

Imogen.  I  am  sorry  for  't,  my  lord.  270 

Cymbeline.  O,  she  was  naught ;  and  long  of  her  it  was 
That  we  meet  here  so  strangely :  but  her  son 
Is  gone,  we  know  not  how  nor  where. 

Pisanio.  My  lord, 

Now  fear  is  from  me,  I  '11  speak  troth.     Lord  Cloten, 
Upon  my  lady's  missing,  came  to  me 
With  his  sword  drawn,  foam'd  at  the  mouth,  and  swore, 
If  I  discover'd  not  which  way  she  was  gone, 
It  was  my  instant  death.     By  accident, 
I  had  a  feigned  letter  of  my  master's 

Then  in  my  pocket,  which  directed  him  280 

To  seek  her  on  the  mountains  near  to  Milford  ; 
Where,  in  a  frenzy,  in  my  master's  garments, 
Which  he  enforc'd  from  me,  away  he  posts 


ACT  V.    SCENE  V.  ! 

With  unchaste  purpose  and  with  oath  to  violate 
My  lady's  honour.     What  became  of  him 
I  further  know  not. 

Guiderius.  Let  me  end  the  story ; 

I  slew  him  there. 

Cymbeline.  Marry,  the  gods  forfend  ! 

I  would  not  thy  good  deeds  should  from  my  lips 
Pluck  a  hard  sentence;  prithee,  valiant  youth, 
Deny  \  again. 

Guiderius.       I  have  spoke  it,  and  I  did  it. 

Cymbeline.   He  was  a  prince. 

Guiderius.  A  most  incivil  one ;  the  wrongs  he  did  me 
Were  nothing  prince-like,  for  he  did  provoke  me 
With  language  that  would  make  me  spurn  the  sea, 
If  it  could  so  roar  to  me.     I  cut  off 's  head, 
And  am  right  glad  he  is  not  standing  here 
To  tell  this  tale  of  mine. 

Cymbeline.  I  am  sorry  for  thee. 

By  thine  own  tongue  thou  art  condemn'd,  and  must 
Endure  our  law;  thou  'rt  dead. 

Imogen.  That  headless  man 

I  thought  had  been  my  lord. 

Cymbeline.  Bind  the  offender, 

And  take  him  from  our  presence. 

Belarius.  Stay,  sir  king  ! 

This  man  is  better  than  the  man  he  slew, 
As  well  descended  as  thyself,  and  hath 
More  of  thee  merited  than  a  band  of  Clotens 
Had  ever  scar  for. — [To  the  Guard}  Let  his  arms  alone; 
They  were  not  born  for  bondage. 

Cymbeline.  Wrhy,  old  soldier, 

Wilt  thou  undo  the  worth  thou  art  unpaid  for, 
By  tasting  of  our  wrath  ?     How  of  descent 
As  good  as  we  ? 

Arviragus.         In  that  he  spake  too  far. 


!54  CYMBELINE. 

Cymbeline.  And  thou  shalt  die  for  't. 

Belarius.  We  will  die  all  three, 

But  I  will  prove  that  two  on  's  are  as  good  3n 

As  I  have  given  out  him. — My  sons,  I  must, 
For  mine  own  part,  unfold  a  dangerous  speech, 
Though,  haply,  well  for  you. 

Arviragus.  Your  danger  's  ours. 

Guiderius.  And  our  good  his. 

Belarius.  Have  at  it  then,  by  leave. — 

Thou  hadst,  great  king,  a  subject  who 
Was  call'd  Belarius. 

Cymbeline.  What  of  him  ?  he  is 

A  banish'd  traitor. 

Belarius.  He  it  is  that  hath 

Assum'd  this  age ;  indeed  a  banish'd  man, 
I  know  not  how  a  traitor. 

Cymbeline.  Take  him  hence ;  320 

The  whole  world  shall  not  save  him. 

Belarius.  Not  too  hot ! 

First  pay  me  for  the  nursing  of  thy  sons  ; 
And  let  it  be  confiscate  all,  so  soon 
As  I  have  receiv'd  it. 

Cymbeline.  Nursing  of  my  sons ! 

Belarius.  I  am  too  blunt  and  saucy;  here  's  my  knee. 
Ere  I  arise,  I  will  prefer  my  sons; 
Then  spare  not  the  old  father.     Mighty  sir, 
These  two  young  gentlemen,  that  call  me  father 
And  think  they  are  my  sons,  are  none  of  mine; 
They  are  the  issue  of  your  loins,  my  liege,  33o 

And  blood  of  your  begetting. 

Cymbeline.  How !  my  issue ! 

Belarius.  So  sure  as  you  your  father's.     I,  old  Morgan, 
Am  that  Belarius  whom  you  sometime  banish'd. 
Your  pleasure  was  my  mere  offence,  my  punishment 
Itself,  and  all  my  treason ;  that  I  suffer'd 


ACT  V.     SCENE  V.  !55 

Was  all  the  harm  I  did.     These  gentle  princes— 

For  such  and  so  they  are — these  twenty  years 

Have  I  train'd  up:  those  arts  they  have  as  I 

Could  put  into  them ;  my  breeding  was,  sir,  as 

Your  highness  knows.     Their  nurse,  Euriphile,  340 

Whom  for  the  theft  I  wedded,  stole  these  children 

Upon  my  banishment.     I  moved  her  to  't, 

Having  receiv'd  the  punishment  before 

For  that  which  I  did  then  ;  beaten  for  loyalty 

Excited  me  to  treason.     Their  dear  loss, 

The  more  of  you  't  was  felt,  the  more  it  shap'd 

Unto  my  end  of  stealing  them.     But,  gracious  sir, 

Here  are  your  sons  again ;  and  I  must  lose 

Two  of  the  sweet'st  companions  in  the  world. — 

The  benediction  of  these  covering  heavens  350 

Fall  on  their  heads  like  dew!  for  they  are  worthy 

To  inlay  heaven  with  stars. 

Cymbdine.  Thou  weep'st,  and  speak'st. 

The  service  that  you  three  have  done  is  more 
Unlike  than  this  thou  tell'st.     I  lost  my  children ; 
If  these  be  they,  I  know  not  how  to  wish 
A  pair  of  worthier  sons. 

Belarius.  Be  pleas'd  awhile. 

This  gentleman,  whom  I  call  Polydore, 
Most  worthy  prince,  as  yours,  is  true  Guiderius. 
This  gentleman,  my  Cadwal,  Arviragus, 
Your  younger  princely  son ;  he,  sir,  was  lapp'd  360 

In  a  most  curious  mantle,  wrought  by  the  hand 
Of  his  queen  mother,  which  for  more  probation 
I  can  with  ease  produce. 

Cymbeline.  Guiderius  had 

Upbn  his  neck  a  mole,  a  sanguine  star; 
It  was  a  mark  of  wonder. 

Belarius.  This  is  he, 

Who  hath  upon  him  still  that  natural  stamp. 


156  CYMBEL2NE. 

It  was  wise  nature's  end  in  the  donation, 
To  be  his  evidence  now. 

Cymbeline.  O,  what,  am  I 

A  mother  to  the  birth  of  three  ?     Ne'er  mother 
Rejoic'd-deliverance  more. — Blest  pray  you  be,  370 

That,  after  this  strange  starting  from  your  orbs, 
You  may  reign  in  them  now!— O  Imogen, 
Thou  hast  lost  by  this  a  kingdom. 

Imogen.  No,  my  lord  ; 

I  have  got  two  worlds  by  't. — O  my  gentle  brothers, 
Have  we  thus  met?     O,  never  say  hereafter 
But  I  am  truest  speaker:  you  call'd  me  brother, 
When  I  was  but  your  sister ;  I  you  brothers, 
When  ye  were  so  indeed. 

Cymbeline.  Did  you  e'er  meet? 

Arviragus.  Ay,  my  good  lord. 

Guiderius.  And  at  first  meeting  lov'd; 

Continued  so,  until  we  thought  he  died.  380 

Cornelius.  By  the  queen's  dram  she  swallow'd. 

Cymbeline.  O  rare  instinct! 

When  shall  I  hear  all  through?     This  fierce  abridgment 
Hath  to  it  circumstantial  branches,  which 
Distinction  should  be  rich  in. — Where?  how  liv'd  you? 
And  when  came  you  to  serve  our  Roman  captive? 
How  parted  with  your  brothers?  how  first  met  them? 
Why  fled  you  from  the  court?  and  whither?     These, 
And  your  three  motives  to  the  battle,  with 
I  know  not  how  much  more,  should  be  demanded, 
And  all  the  other  by-dependances,  390 

From  chance  to  chance ;  but  nor  the  time  nor  place 
Will  serve  our  long  inter'gatories.     See, 
Posthumus  anchors  upon  Imogen, 
And  she,  like  harmless  lightning,  throws  her  eye 
On  him,  her  brothers,  me,  her  master,  hitting 
Each  object  with  a  joy  ;  the  counterchange 


ACT  V.     SCENE   V.  1$j 

Is  severally  in  all.     Let 's  quit  this  ground, 
And  smoke  the  temple  with  our  sacrifices. — 
\To  Belarius\   Thou  art  my   brother;  so  we  '11  hold   thee 
ever. 

Imogen.  You  are  my  father  too,  and  did  relieve  me,        400 
To  see  this  gracious  season. 

Cymbeline.  All  o'erjoy'd, 

Save  these  in  bonds;  let  them  be  joyful  too, 
For  they  shall  taste  our  comfort. 

Imogen.  My  good  master, 

I  will  yet  do  you  service. 

Lucius.  Happy  be  you! 

Cymbeline.  The  forlorn  soldier,  that  so  nobly  fought, 
He  would  have  well  becom'd  this  place,  and  grac'd 
The  thankings  of  a  king. 

Posthumus.  I  am,  sir, 

The  soldier  that  did  company  these  three 
In  poor  beseeming;  't  was  a  fitment  for 
The  purpose  I  then  follow'd. — That  I  was  he,  410 

Speak,  lachimo;  I  had  you  down,  and  might 
Have  made  you  finish. 

lachimo.       \Kneeling\  I  am  down  again; 
But  now  my  heavy  conscience  sinks  my  knee, 
As  then  your  force  did.     Take  that  life,  beseech  you, 
Which  I  so  often  owe ;  but  your  ring  first, 
And  here  the  bracelet  of  the  truest  princess 
That  ever  swore  her  faith. 

Posthumus.  Kneel  not  to  me  ; 

The  power  that  I  have  on  you  is  to  spare  you, 
The  malice  towards  you  to  forgive  you.  Live, 
And  deal  with  others  better. 

Cymbeline.  Nobly  doom'd!  420 

We  Ml  learn  our  freeness  of  a  son-in-law ; 
Pardon  's  the  word  to  all. 

Arviragus.  You  holp  us,  sir, 


I58  CYMBELINE. 

As  you  did  mean  indeed  to  be  our  brother; 
Joy'd  are  we  that  you  are. 

Posthumus.  Your   servant,  princes.  —  Good    my   lord    of 

Rome, 

Call  forth  your  soothsayer.     As  I  slept,  methought 
Great  Jupiter,  upon  his  eagle  back'd, 
Appear'd  to  me,  with  other  spritely  shows 
Of  mine  own  kindred.     When  I  wak'd,  I  found 
This  label  on  my  bosom,  whose  containing  43° 

Is  so  from  sense  in  hardness,  that  I  can 
Make  no  collection  of  it ;  let  him  show 
His  skill  in  the  construction. 

Lucius.  Philarmonus! 

Soothsayer.  Here,  my  good  lord. 

Lucius.  Read,  and  declare  the  meaning. 

Soothsayer.  [Reads]  '  Whenas  a  lion's  whelp  shall,  to  him- 
self unknown,  without  seeking  find,  and  be  embraced  by  a  piece 
of  tender  air;  and  when  from  a  stately  cedar  shall  be  lopped 
branches,  which,  being  dead  many  years,  shall  after  revive,  be 
jointed  to  the  old  stock,  and  freshly  grow;  then  shall  Posthumus 
end  his  miseries,  Britain  be  fortunate  and  flourish  in  peace  and 
plenty?  441 

Thou,  Leonatus,  art  the  lion's  whelp; 
The  fit  and  apt  construction  of  thy  name, 
Being  Leo-natus,  doth  import  so  much.- — 
\To  Cymbeline~\  The  piece  of  tender  air,  thy  virtuous  daughter, 
Which  we  call  '  mollis  aer ;'  and  '  mollis  aer ' 
We  term  it  'mulier:'  which  '  mulier  '  I  divine 
Is  this  most  constant  wife;  who,  even  now, 
Answering  the  letter  of  the  oracle, 

Unknown  to  you,  unsought,  were  clipp'd  about  w 

With  this  most  tender  air. 

Cymbeline.  This  hath  some  seeming. 

Soothsayer.  The  lofty  cedar,  royal  Cymbeline, 
Personates  thee;  and  thy  lopp'd  branches  point 


ACT  V.    SCENE  V.  !59 

Thy  two  sons  forth,  who,  by  Belarius  stol'n, 
For  many  years  thought  dead,  are  now  reviv'd, 
To  the  majestic  cedar  join'd,  whose  issue 
Promises  Britain  peace  and  plenty. 

Cymbeline.  Well, 

My  peace  we  will  begin.— And,  Caius  Lucius, 
Although  the  victor,  we  submit  to  Caesar 
And  to  the  Roman  empire,  promising  460 

To  pay  our  wonted  tribute,  from  the  which 
We  were  dissuaded  by  our  wicked  queen ; 
Whom  heavens,  in  justice,  both  on  her  and  hers, 
Have  laid  most  heavy  hand. 

Soothsayer.  The  fingers  of  the  powers  above  do  tune 
The  harmony  of  this  peace.     The  vision 
Which  I  made  known  to  Lucius,  ere  the  stroke 
Of  yet  this  scarce-cold  battle,  at  this  instant 
Is  full  accomplish'd ;  for  the  Roman  eagle, 
From  south  to  west  on  wing  soaring  aloft,  470 

Lessen'd  herself,  and  in  the  beams  o'  the  sun 
So  vanished  :  which  foreshow'd  our  princely  eagle, 
The  imperial  Caesar,  should  again  unite 
His  favour  with  the  radiant  Cymbeline, 
Which  shines  here  in  the  west. 

Cymbeline.  Laud  we  the  gods; 

And  let  our  crooked  smokes  climb  to  their  nostrils 
From  our  blest  altars.     Publish  we  this  peace 
To  all  our  subjects.     Set  we  forward.     Let 
A  Roman  and  a  British  ensign  wave 

Friendly  together;  so  through  Lud's  town  march,  48o 

And  in  the  temple  of  great  Jupiter 
Our  peace  we  '11  ratify,  seal  it  with  feasts. — 
Set  on  there! — Never  was  a  war  did  cease, 
Ere  bloody  hands  were  wash'd,  with  such  a  peace.     \Exeunt. 


NOTES. 


ABBREVIATIONS   USED  IN  THE  NOTES. 

Abbott  (or  Gr.),  Abbott's  Shakespearian  Grammar  (third  edition). 
A.  S.,  Anglo-Saxon. 

A.  V.,  Authorized  Version  of  the  Bible  (1611). 

B.  and  F.,  Beaumont  and  Fletcher. 
B.  J.,  Ben  Jonson. 

Camb.  ed.,  "  Cambridge  edition"  of  Shakespeare,  edited  by  Clark  and  Wright. 

Cf.  (confer),  compare. 

Clarke,  "  Cassell's  Illustrated  Shakespeare,"  edited  by  Charles  and  Mary  Cowden- 
Clarke  (London,  n.  d.). 

Coll.,  Collier  (second  edition). 

Coll.  MS.,  Manuscript  Corrections  of  Second  Folio,  edited  by  Collier. 

D.,  Dyce  (second  edition). 

H.,  Hudson  ("  Harvard"  ed.). 

Halliwell,  J.  O.  Halliwell  (folio  ed.  of  Shakespeare). 

Id.  (idem),  the  same. 

J.  H.,  J.  Hunter's  ed.  oiCymb.  (London,  1878). 

K.,  Knight  (second  edition). 

Nares,  Glossary,  edited  bv  Halliwell  and  Wright  (London,  1859). 

Prol.,  Prologue. 

S-,  Shakespeare. 

Schmidt,  A.  Schmidt's  Shakespeare- Lexicon  (Berlin,  1874). 

Sr.,  Singer. 

St.,  Staunton. 

Theo.,  Theobald. 

V.,  Verplanck. 

W.,  R.  Grant  White. 

Walker,  Wm.  Sidney  Walker's  Critical  Examination  of  the  Text  of  Shakespeare 
(London,  1860). 

Warb.,  Warburton. 

Wb.,  Webster's  Dictionary  (revised  quarto  edition  of  1879). 

Wore.,  Worcester's  Dictionary  (quarto  edition). 

The  abbreviations  of  the  names  of  Shakespeare's  Plays  will  be  readily  understood ;  as 
T.  N.  for  Twelfth  Night,  Cor.  for  Coriolanus,  3  Hen.  VI.  for  The  Third  Part  of  King 
Henry  the  Sixth,  etc.  P.  P.  refers  to  The  Passionate  Pilgrim  ;  V.  and  A .  to  Venus 
and  Adonis  ;  L.  C.  to  Lover's  Complaint ;  and  Sonn.  to  the  Sonnets. 

When  the  abbreviation  of  the  name  of  a  play  is  followed  by  a  reference  to  page, 
Rolfe's  edition  of  the  play  is  meant. 

The  numbers  of  the  lines  (except  for  the  present  play)  are  those  of  the  "  Globe  "  ed. 
or  of  the  American  reprint  of  that  ed. 


NOTES. 


ROMAN    AND    BRITISH    WEAPONS. 


INTRODUCTION. 

THE  following  extracts  from  Holinshed  (see  p.  n  above)  include  all 
the  portions  of  the  chronicle  which  Shakespeare  can  have  used  in  writ- 
ing the  play : 

"  After  the  death  of  Cassibelane,  Theomantius  or  Lenantius,  the  young- 
est son  of  Lud,  was  made  king  of  Britain  in  the  year  of  the  world  3921, 
after  the  building  of  Rome  706,  and  before  the  coming  of  Christ  45.  — 
Theomantius  ruled  the  land  in  good  quiet,  and  paid  the  tribute  to  the 
Romans  which  Cassibelane  had  granted,  and  finally  departed  this  life 
after  he  had  reigned  twenty-two  years,  and  was  buried  at  London. 

"  Kymbeline  or  Cimbeline,  the  son  of  Theomantius,  was  of  the  Brit- 
ains  made  king,  after  the  decease  of  his  father,  in  the  year  of  the  world 
3944,  after  the  building  of  Rome  728,  and  before  the  birth  of  our  Saviour 
33.  This  man  (as  some  write)  was  brought  up  at  Rome,  and  there  made 
knight  by  Augustus  Caesar,  under  whom  he  served  in  the  wars,  and  was  in 
such  favour  with  him  that  he  was  at  liberty  to  pay  his  tribute  or  not. . . . 
Touching  the  continuance  of  the  years  of  Kymbeline's  reign  some  writers 
do  vary,  but  the  best  approved  affirm  that  he  reigned  thirty-five  years 
and  then  died,  and  was  buried  at  London,  leaving  behind  him  two  sons, 
Guiderius  and  Arviragus.  But  here  is  to  be  noted  that,  although  our 


1 64  NOTES. 

histories  do  affirm  that  as  well  this  Kymbeline,  as  also  his  father  Theo- 
mantius,  lived  in  quiet  with  the  Romans,  and  continually  to  them  paid 
the  tributes  which  the  Britains  had  covenanted  with  Julius  Caesar  to  pay, 
yet  we  find  in  the  Roman  writers,  that  after  Julius  Caesar's  death,  when 
Augustus  had  taken  upon  him  the  rule  of  the  empire,  the  Britains  refused 
to  pay  that  tribute :  whereat,  as  Cornelius  Tacitus  reporteth,  Augustus 
(being  otherwise  occupied)  was  contented  to  wink;  howbeit,  through 
earnest  calling  upon  to  recover  his  right  by  such  as  were  desirous  to  see 
the  uttermost  of  the  British  kingdom  ;  at  length,  to  wit,  in  the  tenth  year 
after  the  death  of  Julius  Caesar,  which  was  about  the  thirteenth  year  of 
the  said  Theomantius,  Augustus  made  provision  to  pass  with  an  army 
over  into  Britain,  and  was  come  forward  upon  his  journey  into  Gallia 
Celtica,  or,  as  we  may  say,  into  these  hither  parts  of  France. 

"  But  here  receiving  advertisements  that  the  Pannonians,  which  inhab- 
ited the  country  now  called  Hungary,  and  the  Dalmatians,  whom  now  we 
call  Slavons,  had  rebelled,  he  thought  it  best  first  to  subdue  those  rebels 
near  home,  rather  than  to  seek  new  countries,  and  leave  such  in  hazard 
whereof  he  had  present  possession  ;  and  so,  turning  his  power  against  the 
Pannonians  and  Dalmatians,  he  left  off  for  a  time  the  wars  of  Britain, 
whereby  the  land  remained  without  fear  of  any  invasion  to  be  made  by 
the  Romans  till  the  year  after  the  building  of  the  city  of  Rome,  725,  and 
about  the  nineteenth  year  of  Theomantius'  reign,  that  Augustus  with  an 
army  departed  once  again  from  Rome  to  pass  over  into  Britain  there  to 
make  war.  But  after  his  coming  into  Gallia,  when  the  Britains  sent  to 
him  certain  ambassadors  to  treat  with  him  of  peace,  he  staid  there  to  set- 
tle the  state  of  things  among  the  Galles,  for  that  they  were  not  in  very 
good  order.  ...  But  whether  this  controversy,  which  appeareth  to  fall 
forth  betwixt  the  Britains  and  Augustus,  was  occasioned  by  Kymbeline, 
or  some  other  prince  of  the  Britains,  I  have  not  to  avouch  :  for  that  by  our 
writers  it  is  reported  that  Kymbeline,  being  brought  up  in  Rome,  and 
knighted  in  the  court  of  Augustus,  ever  showed  himself  a  friend  to  the 
Romans,  and  chiefly  was  loth  to  break  with  them,  because  the  youth  of 
the  British  nation  should  not  be  deprived  of  the  benefit  to  be  trained  and 
brought  up  among  the  Romans,  whereby  they  might  learn  both  to  be- 
have themselves  like  civil  men,  and  to  attain  to  the  knowledge  of  feats 
of  war. . . . 

"  Mulmucius  Dunwallo,  the  son  of  Cloten,  got  the  upper  hand  of  the 
other  dukes  or  rulers :  and  after  his  father's  decease  began  his  reign  over 
the  whole  monarchy  of  Britain,  in  the  year  of  the  world  3529.  This  Mul- 
mucius Dunwallo  proved  a  right  worthy  prince.  He  builded  within  the 
city  of  London,  then  called  Troinovant,  a  temple,  and  called  it  the  Tem- 
ple of  Peace.  He  also  made  many  good  laws,  which  were  long  after 
used,  called  Mulmucius'  laws.  After  he  had  established  his  land,  and 
set  his  Britains  in  good  and  convenient  order,  he  ordained  him  by  the  ad- 
vice of  his  lords  a  crown  of  gold,  and  caused  himself  with  great  solemni- 
ty to  be  crowned,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  pagan  laws  then  in  use  : 
and  because  he  was  the  first  who  bare  a  crown  here  in  Britain,  after  the 
opinion  of  some  writers,  he  is  named  the  first  king  of  Britain,  and  all  the 
other  before  rehearsed  are  named  rulers,  dukes,  or  governors." 


ACT  I.    SCENE  I.  l6r 

ACT  I. 

SCENE  I. — i.  Bloods.  Temperaments,  dispositions;  as  in  2  Hen.  IV. 
iv.  4.  38:  "When  you  perceive  his  blood  inclin'd  to  mirth,"  etc.  The 
plural  is  used,  as  often,  because  more  than  one  person  is  referred  to.  Cf. 
Rich.  II.  p.  206,  note  on  Sights. 

3.  Still  seem  as  does  the  king.     The  folios  have  "  kings,"  and  some 
modern  editors  read  "  king's  "  (that  is,  the  king's  blood).     King  is  Tyr- 
whitt's  conjecture  (also  in  the  Coll.  MS.),  and  is  adopted  by  K.,  Coll.,  I)., 
W.,  Clarke,  and  others. 

The  sense  is :  Our  temperaments  are  not  more  surely  controlled  by 
planetary  influences  than  the  aspect  of  our  courtiers  is  by  that  of  the 
king  ;  their  looks  reflect  the  sadness  of  his.  Cf.  13  just  below. 

4.  Of 's.     Such  contractions  are  especially  frequent  in  the  latest  plays 
of  S.     See  many  instances  below. 

10.  None  but  the  king?  "Are  all  but  the  king  in  outward  sorrow 
only  ?  none  else  touched  at  heart  ?"  (J.  H.). 

13.    To  the  bent.     According  to  the  cast  or  aspect     Cf.  A.  and  C.  i.  3. 

**  "  Eternity  was  in  our  lips  and  eyes, 

Bliss  in  our  brows'  bent,"  etc. 

23.  Outward.     For  the  noun,  cf.  Sonn.  69.  5  :  "  Thy  outward  thus  with 
outward  praise  is  crown'd  ;"  T.  and  C.  iii.  2.  169  :  "Outliving  beauty's 
outward,"  etc. 

24.  But  he.     Changed  by  Rowe  to  "  but  him."     Cf.  A.  Y.  L.  i.  2.  18 : 
5<  my  father  hath  no  child  but  I."     See  also  Gr.  205  fol. 

You  speak  him  far.  You  go  far  in  what  you  say  of  him.  Cf.  v.  5.  309 
below. 

25.  I  do  extend  him,  sir,  within  himself.     That  is,  far  as  I  speak  him, 
I  keep  within  the  bounds  of  his  merit.     Malone  paraphrases  the  passage 
thus  :  "  My  eulogium,  however  extended  it  may  seem,  is  short  of  his  real 
excellence  ;  it  is  abbreviated  rather  than  expanded." 

29.  Did  join  his  honour.    Gave  his  noble  aid  or  alliance.    The  passage 
has  troubled  many  of  the  commentators,  who   have  suggested  "  win," 
"gain,"  and  "earn"  for  join,  and  "banner"  for  honozir ;  but  no  change 
seems  really  called  for. 

30.  Casstbelan.    Lud's  younger  brother,  while  Tenantius,  whom  Hoi ins- 
hed  (see  p.  163  above)  calls  "  Theomantius  or  Lenantius,"  was  Lud's  son. 
On  the  death  of  his  brother,  Cassibelan  usurped  the  throne. 

31.  But  had  his  titles,  etc.     That  is,  though  he  had  joined  the  party  of 
the  usurper,  he  was  forgiven  and  honoured  by  the  rightful  king. 

33.  Sur-addition.  Surname  ;  used  by  S.  only  here.  "  The  name  of 
Leonatus  he  found  in  Sidney's  Arcadia.  Leonatus  is  there  the  legitimate 
son  of  the  blind  King  of  Paphlagonia,  on  whose  story  the  episode  of 
Gloster,  Edgar,  and  Edmund  is  formed  in  King  Lear"  (Malone).  Cf. 
Lear,  p.  159. 

37.  Fond  of  issue.  The  Coll.  MS,  has  "  of  's  "  for  of;  but,  as  Coll.  re- 
marks, the  change  is  needless. 

41.  Leonatus.    Omitted  by  Pope  for  the  sake  of  the  metre  ;  but  proper 


1 66  NOTES. 

names  are  often  used  in  this  loose  way  at  the  end  of  a  line.     See  Gr. 
469. 

43.  Learnings.  The  only  instance  of  the  plural  in  S.  His  tt'me=his 
age. 

46.  In  '.r.     See  on  4  above.     Pope  changed  in  *s  to  "  his." 

47.  Which  rare  it  is  to  do.     "  This  encomium  is  high  and  artful.     To 
be  at  once  in  any  degree  loved  and  praised  is  truly  rare  "  (Johnson). 

49.  Feated.     Fashioned,  "  featured  "  (Rowe's  reading) ;  used  by  S.  only 
here.     Sr.  quotes  Palsgrave,  1530:  "I  am  well  feted  or  shapen  of  my 
lymmes  ;  je  suis  bien  aligne." 

Steevens  compares  2  Hen.  IV.  ii.  3.  21  [see  also  31]  : 

"  he  was  indeed  the  glass 
Wherein  the  noble  youth  did  dress  themselves ;" 

and  Ham.  iii.  i.  161  :  "The  glass  of  fashion  and  the  mould  of  form.'T 

50.  To  his  mistress.     Mason  says  that  to  is  — "a.?  to."     We  prefer  to 
consider  the  passage  an  instance  of  "  construction  changed  by  change  of 
thought"  (Gr.  415). 

58.  Mark  it.  "  Shakespeare's  dramatic  art  uses  this  expedient,  natu- 
rally introduced  into  the  dialogue,  to  draw  special  attention  to  a  circum- 
stance that  it  is  essential  should  be  borne  in  mind,  and  which  otherwise 
might  escape  notice  in  the  course  of  narration  "  (Clarke). 

63.  Conveyed.  Stolen.  Cf.  Rich.  II.  iv.  I.  317  :  "  O,  good  !  Convey  ? — 
conveyers  are  you  all ;"  and  see  our  ed.  p.  206. 

70.  Enter  the  Queen,  etc.  The  folio  begins  "  Scena  Secunda"  here, 
and  some  modern  editors  follow  it.  Rowe  was  the  first  to  continue  the 
scene. 

74.  Posthumus.  Accented  by  S.  on  the  second  syllable.  V.  remarks  : 
"Well-educated  men  in  England  have  an  accuracy  as  to  Latin  quantity, 
and  lay  a  stress  upon  it,  such  as  are  elsewhere  found  only  among  pro- 
fessed scholars.  On  this  account  Steevens  and  other  critics  have  con- 
sidered the  erroneous  quantity  or  accentuation  of  Posthumus  and  Ar- 
viragus  as  decisive  of  Shakespeare's  want  of  learning.  But  the  truth  is, 
that  in  his  day,  great  latitude,  in  this  respect,  prevailed  among  authors ; 
and  it  is  probable  that  Latin  was  taught  in  the  schools,  as  it  still  is  in 
Scotland  and  many  parts  of  the  United  States,  without  any  minute  at- 
tention to  prosody.  Steevens  himself  has  shown  that  the  older  poets 
were  careless  in  this  matter.  Thus  the  poetical  Earl  of  Stirling  has 
Darius  and  Euphrates  with  the  penultimate  short.  Warner,  who  was,  I 
believe,  a  scholar,  in  his  'Albion's  England,'  has  the  same  error  with 
Shakespeare,  as  to  both  names." 

78.  Leaned  unto.     Bowed  to,  submitted  to. 

86.  Something.  .  ,  nothing.     Both  often  used  adverbially.     Cf.  i.  4.  66, 
101,  i.  6.  190,  iv.  4,  15,  etc.,  below.     Gr.  55,  68. 

87.  Always  reserved  my  holy  duty.     "  So  far  as  I  may  say  it  without 
breach  of  duty"  (Johnson), 

96.  Loyalist.  For  the  contracted  superlative,  cf.  iii.  5.  44,  iv.  2.  175, 
191,  etc.,  below.  Gr.  473. 

101.  Gall.  Johnson  says:  "  Shakespeare,  even  in  this  poor  conceit, 
has  confounded  the  vegetable  galls  used  in  ink  with  the  animal  gall,  sup- 


ACT  I.    SCENE  I.  !67 

posed  to  be  bitter ;"  but  Steevens  reminds  him  that  the  vegetable  gall 
is  also  bitter.  Cf.  T.  N.  iii.  2.  52  :  "  Let  there  be  gall  enough  in  thy 
ink." 

105.  He  does  btiy  my  injuries  to  be  friends.  "  He  gives  me  a  valuable 
consideration  in  new  kindness  (purchasing,  as  it  were,  the  wrong  I  have 
done  him),  in  order  to  renew  our  amity  and  make  us  friends  again " 
(Malone). 

113.  Till  you  woo  another  wife.  Mrs.  Jameson  says  on  this  and  what 
follows  :  "  Imogen,  in  whose  tenderness  there  is  nothing  jealous  or  fan- 
tastic, does  not  seriously  apprehend  that  her  husband  will  woo  another 
wife  when  she  is  dead.  It  is  one  of  those  fond  fancies  which  women  are 
apt  to  express  in  moments  of  feeling,  merely  for  the  pleasure  of  hearing 
a  protestation  to  the  contrary.  When  Posthumus  leaves  her,  she  does 
not  burst  forth  in  eloquent  lamentation  ;  but  that  silent,  stunning,  over- 
whelming sorrow,  which  renders  the  mind  insensible  to  all  things  else, 
is  represented  with  equal  force  and  simplicity." 

116.  Sear.  "Cere"  and  "seal"  have  been  suggested,  but  we  think  it 
probable,  with  Clarke,  that  "sear  is  here  used  to  express  the  dry  wither- 
ing of  death,  as  well  as  the  closing  with  wax  by  those  bonds  of  death, 
cerecloths  [cf.  M.  ofV.  ii.  7.  51],  sometimes  written  seare-cloths" 

118.  While  sense  can  keep  it  on.  Steevens  took  this  to  be  — "While 
sense  can  maintain  its  operations,  or  continues  to  have  its  usual  power ;" 
but  it  probably  refers  to  the  ring,  as  others  have  explained  it.  For  the 
change  of  person,  Malone  compares  iii.  3.  103  below  : 

"  Euriphile, 

Thou  wast  their  nurse ;  they  took  thee  for  their  mother, 
And  every  day  do  honour  to  her  grave." 

Pope  reads  "  thee  "  for  it,  and  W.  conjectures  "  it  own  "  (cf.  W.  T.  p. 
172). 

124.  When  shall  we  see  again  ?    Cf.  Hen.  VIII.  i.  I.  2  :  "  Since  last  we 
saw  in  France."     See  also  T.  and  C.  iv.  4.  59.     Gr.  382. 

125.  Avoid!    Begone  !     Cf.  C.  of  E.  iv.  3.  48  :  "  Satan,  avoid  !"     See 
also  Temp.  p.  137. 

126.  Fraught.     Burden.     Cf.  Temp.  i.  2.  13:  "The  fraughting  souls 
within  her"  (that  is,  the  ship).     See  also  M.  of  V.  p.  145.     Freight  is  not 
used  by  S.  or  Milton,  either  as  verb  or  noun. 

129.  The  good  remainders,  etc.     "That  is,  the  court  which  now  gets 
rid  of  my  umvorthiness  "  (Schmidt). 

130.  A  pinch.     A  pang.     Cf.  Temp.v.  I.  77:  "Whose  inward  pinches 
[the  pangs  of  remorse]  therefore  are  most  strong." 

133.  A  year's  age.  As  the  passage  stands  this  seems  an  impotent  con- 
clusion, and  the  defective  measure  of  the  preceding  line  suggests  that 
something  may  have  been  lost.  Hanmer  gave  "  heapest  many,"  and 
Capell  "heap'st  instead."  Theo.  changed  year's  to  "  yare  "  (=speedy), 
and  Johnson  conjectured  "  Years,  ages."  Schmidt  would  read  "  a  years' 
age"  =  "an  age  advanced  in  years,  old  age."  V.  accepts  the  old  read- 
ing, and  says :  "  The  aged  king,  to  whom  every  added  year  is  a  serious 
burden,  tells  his  daughter  that  in  her  present  act  of  fond  sorrow  she 
takes  away  a  year  of  his  life." 


1 68  NOTES. 

135.  Senseless  of.  Insensible  to.  Cf.  A.  Y.  L.  ii.  7.  55  :  "  to  seem 
senseless  of  the  bob  "  (that  is,  seem  not  to  feel  the  blow),  etc. 

A  touch  more  rare.  A  more  exquisite  sensibility.  Malone  quotes 
Lear,  iii.  4.  8  : 

"  But  where  the  greater  malady  is  fix'd, 
The  lesser  is  scarce  felt." 

140.  A  puttock.  A  kite,  or  a  worthless  species  of  hawk.  Cf.  2  Hen.  VI. 
iii.  2.  191 : 

"  Who  finds  the  partridge  in  the  puttock' s  nest 
But  may  imagine  how  the  bird  was  dead, 
Although  the  kite  soar  with  unbloodied  beak?" 

and  T.  and  C.  v.  I.  68  :  "a  toad,  a  lizard,  an  owl,  a  puttock,"  etc. 

146.  Overbuys  me,  etc.  Pays  a  price  that  exceeds  by  almost  the  full 
amount  what  he  gets  in  return ;  that  is,  he  gives  himself  worth  any 
woman,  even  the  best  of  her  sex,  and  gets  only  my  almost  worthless  self 
in  return. 

153.  Beseech  your  patience.  That  is,  /  beseech  it;  a  common  ellipsis. 
Cf.  prithee— I  pray  thee.  See  Gr.  401. 

156.  Your  best  advice.     Your  most  careful   consideration.     Cf.  Rich. 
II.  i.  3.  233  :  "  Thy  son  is  banish'd  upon  good  advice  "  (that  is,  after  due 
deliberation) ;  M.  of  V.  iv.  2.6:  "  upon  more  advice  "  (upon  reflection), 
etc. 

157.  A  drop  of  blood  a  day.     Steevens  compares  Oth.  v.  2.  155  : 

"  may  his  pernicious  soul 
Rot  half  a  grain  a  day ! " 

164.  On  V.     Of  it.     Cf.  v.  5.  311  below:  "two  on  's,"  etc.     Gr.  182. 
167.  In  Afric.     That  is,  where  no  one  would  be  at  hand  to  part  them. 
Cf.  Cor.  iv.  2.  23  : 

"  I  would  my  son 

Were  in  Arabia,  and  thy  tribe  before  him, 
His  good  sword  in  his  hand!" 

Macb.  iii.  4.  104 :  "  And  dare  me  to  the  desert  with  thy  sword ;"  and 
Rich.  II.  iv.  i.  74:  "I  dare  meet  Surrey  in  a  wilderness"  (see  our  ed. 
p.  202).  On  Afric,  cf.  Cor.  p.  21 1. 

171.  Bring:  Accompany.  Cf.  W.  T.  iv.  3.  122  :  "  Shall  I  bring  thee 
on  the  way  ?"  See  also  Gen.  xviii.  16,  Acts,  xxi.  5,  2  Cor.  i.  16,  etc. 

176.  Walk.     Retire,  withdraw.     See  Lear,  p.  222. 

SCENE  II.— 5.  Then  to  shift  it.  Then  I  would  shift  it.  Some  follow 
Rowe  in  pointing  "  then  to  shift  it — " 

8.  Passable.     Affording  free  passage  ;   no  more  to  be  wounded  than 
"  the  still-closing  waters  "  in  Temp.  iii.  3.  64. 

9.  Through/are.     Thoroughfare  ;  as  in  M.  of  V.  ii.  7.  42.     Thorough- 
fare does  not  occur  in  the  folio,  though  many  of  the  modern  eds.  follow 
Pope  in  reading  it  here.     Cf.  Gr.  478. 

14.  He  fled  forward.     Steevens  compares  T.  and  C.  iv.  I.  20  : 

"And  thou  shalt  hunt  a  lion,  that  will  fly 
With  his  face  backward." 


ACT  I.    SCENE  III.  X69 

17.  Having.  Possession,  property.  Cf.  T.  AT.  iii.  4,  379  :  "  My  having 
is  not  much."  See  also  A.  Y.L.  p.  178.  The  quibble  in  gave  you  some 
ground  is  obvious. 

19.  Puppies.  Referring  to  "  his  disgust  at  the  swagger  of  Cloten  and 
the  sycophancy  of  the  first  lord,  who  plies  the  swaggerer  with  spaniel 
flattery  and  fawning  "  (Clarke). 

25.  A  true  election.  A  right  choice.  W.  thinks  there  is  an  allusion  to 
the  Calvinistic  doctrine  of  election. 

27.  Her  beauty  and  her  brain,  etc.     Johnson  conjectured  "  beauty  and 
brain  ;"  but  the  meaning  is  simply  that  her  beauty  and  wit  are  not 
equal. 

28.  She  's  a  good  sign,  etc.    "  She  has  a  fair  outside,  a  specious  appear- 
ance, but  no  wit"  (Edwards).     Cf.  Much  Ado,  iv.  I.  34  :  "  She  's  but  the 
sign  and  semblance  of  her  honour."    Malone  cites  what  lachimo  says  of 
Imogen  in  i.  6.  15  : 

"All  of  her  .that  is  out  of  door,  most  rich! 
If  she  be  furnish1  d  with  a  mind  so  rare, 
She  is  alone  the  Arabian  bird." 

SCENE  III. — 4.  As  offered  mercy  is.  "  As  a  pardon  that  has  miscarried, 
or  arrived  too  late  to  stay  the  execution  of  a  prisoner  "  (J.  H.).  St.  would 
read  "deferr'd." 

9.  This.  The  folios  have  "  his ;"  corrected  by  Theo.  (the  conjecture 
of  Warb.).  Coleridge  suggests  "the,"  and  W.  "or."  Hanmer  reads 
"mark  me  with  his»eye,  or  I,"  etc. 

12.  Of  Js.     See  on  i.  i.  4  above. 

1 6.  After-eye.     Look  after  ;  used  by  S.  only  here. 

17.  Crack "d.     Not  a  weaker  word  than  broke,  as  S.  uses  it.     Cf.  Cor. 
i.  i.  72  : 

"  Cracking  ten  thousand  curbs 
Of  more  strong  link  asunder  than  can  ever 
Appear  in  your  impediment ;" 

and  see  our  ed.  p.  196. 

1 8.  The  diminution  of  space.     The  diminution  due  to  space,  or  dis- 
tance. 

24.  Vantage.     Opportunity.     Cf.  ii.  3.  43  below. 

29.  Shes.     Cf.  i.  6.  39  below :  "  two  such  shes."     See  also  A.  Y.  L. 
p.  170.     Gr.  224. 

32.  71?  encounter.     To  meet,  or  join  with. 

33.  I  am  in  heaven.     My  prayers  will  be  rising  to  heaven. 

35.  Two  charming  words.     Imogen  does  not  tell  us  these  words,  but 
Warb.  informs  us  that  they  were  "Adieu,  Posthumus  !"     Charming^ 
that  should  be  as  a  charm  to  preserve  him  from  evil. 

36.  The  north.     Cf.  Oth.  v.  2.  220  :  "  No,  I  will  speak  as  liberal  as  the 
north ;"  that  is,  as  freely  as  the  north  wind  blows. 

37.  Our^buds.     "  Our  buds  of  love,"  as  Malone  is  kind  enough  to  tell 
us.     Warb.  wanted  to  read  "blowing"  for  growing;  which  drew  forth 
this  ponderous  comment  from  Johnson :   "  A  bud  without  any  distinct 
idea,  whether  of  flower  or  fruit,  is  a  natural  representation  of  any  thing 


I7o  NOTES. 

incipient  or  immature ;   and  the  buds  of  flowers,  if  flowers  are  meant, 
grow  to  flowers,  as  the  buds  of  fruits  grow  to  fruits."     Cf.  R.  and  J.  ii. 

2.  121  * 

"This  bud  of  love,  by  summer's  ripening  breath, 
May  prove  a  beauteous  flower  when  next  we  meet." 

SCENE  IV. — "  It  has  been  observed  that  the  behaviour  of  the  Spaniard 
and  the  Dutchman,  who  are  stated  to  be  present  during  this  animated 
scene,  is  in  humorous  accordance  with  the  apathy  and  taciturnity  usually 
attributed  to  their  countrymen.  Neither  the  Don  nor  Mynheer  utters  a 
syllable.  *  What  was  Imogen  to  them,  or  they  to  Imogen,'  that  they 
should  speak  of  her  ?"  (V.).  W.  remarks  that  "  their  mere  presence  has 
a  dramatic  value,  as  indicating  the  mixed  company  of  travellers  in  which 
this  scene  takes  place." 

2.  A  crescent  note.  A  growing  reputation.  For  crescent,  cf.  Ham.  i.  3. 
II  and  A.  and  C.  ii.  I.  10;  and  for  note  (  =  distinction),  i.  6.  22  below: 
"  of  the  noblest  note,"  etc.  The  3d  and  4th  folios  have  "  none "  for 
note;  and  Pope  (ed.  2)  reads  :  "then  but  crescent,  none  expected  him," 
etc. 

4.  Admiration.     Wonder,  astonishment;  as  in  i.  6.  37  below. 

8.  Makes  him.  "  In  the  sense  in  which  we  say,  This  will  make  or  mar 
you"  (Johnson). 

14.  Words  him  .  .  .  a  great  deal  from  the  matter.  "Makes  the  de- 
scription of  him  very  distant  from  the  truth"  (Johnson).  Forfrom  = 
away  from,  see  Rich.  III.  p.  233,  or  T.  N.  p.  130.  Gr.  158. 

18.  Under  her  colours.  "  Under  her  banner  ;  by  her«influence  "  (John- 
son). 

Are  wonderfully  to  extend  him.  Tend  greatly  to  increase  his  reputa- 
tion. Cf.  the  use  of  extend  in  i.  i.  25  above.  Are  is  probably  an  in- 
stance of  "confusion  of  proximity  "  (Gr.  412),  as  Malone  explains  it ;  but 
Steevens  includes  the  preceding  matter  (in  12)  and  banishment  in  the  sub- 
ject. The  Coll.  MS.  has  "  are  wont." 

20.  Without  less.  Changed  by  Rowe  to  "  without  more."  W.  con- 
jectures "  with  less  "  or  "  without  this,"  and  Lloyd  "  without  other."  It 
is  probably  one  of  the  peculiar  "  double  negatives  "  of  which  so  many 
examples  are  to  be  found  in  S.  See  Lear,  p.  210  (note  on  You  less  know 
how,  etc.),  or  A.  Y.  L.  p.  156  (on  No  more  do  yours}.  Cf.  Schmidt,  p.  1420. 

26.  Knowing.     Knowledge,  experience  ;  as  in  ii.  3.  95  below. 

30.  Story.  Cf.  V.and  A.  1013  :  "and  stories  His  victories;"  and  R.  of 
L.  106 :  "  He  stories  to  her  ears  her  husband's  fame."  S.  uses  the  verb 
only  three  times. 

32.  Have  known  together.  Have  been  acquainted.  Cf.  A.  and  C.  ii.  6. 
86  :  "  You  and  I  have  known,  sir."  Pope  thought  it  necessary  to  read 
"been  known." 

34.  Which  I  will  be  ever  to  pay,  etc.  Malone  misquotes  A.  W.  iii.  7.  16  : 
"  Which  I  will  overpay  ["  ever  pay,"  he  gives  it]  and  pay  again." 

36.  Atone.  Make  at  one,  reconcile  ;  as  in  Rich.  II.  i.  i.  202  :  "  Since  we 
cannot  atone  you,"  etc.    See  our  ed.  p.  156.    For  other  meanings  of 'atone, 
see  A.  Y.  L.  p.  199. 

37.  Mortal.     Deadly ;  as  in  iii.  4.  18,  v.  3.  51,  v.  5.  50,  235  below. 


ACT  L    SCENE  IV.  !7l 

38.  Importance.  Import,  matter,  subject.  Malone  and  Steevens  make 
it = importunity ;  as  in  T.  N.  v.  i.  371  and  K.  John,  ii.  i.  7. 

41.  Go  evert.  Agree,  act  in  accordance.  It  is  used  without  with 
(  =  agree,  coincide)  in  T.  N.  v.  1.246:  "Were  you  a  woman  as  the  rest 
goes  even,"  etc. 

43.  Offend  not.  The  not  is  omitted  in  the  folios;  inserted  by  Rowe. 
The  Coll.  MS.  has  "  not  offend  "  (cf.  Gr.  305). 

46.  Such  .  .  .  that.     Cf.  W.  T.  i.  2.  263  : 

"these,  my  lord, 

Are  such  allow' d  infirmities  that  honesty 
Is  never  free  of." 

See  also  i.  6.  129,  etc.,  below.     Gr.  279. 

47.  Confounded.     Destroyed  ;  as  often.     See  Macb.  p.  189.     Cf.  confu- 
sion in  iii.  i.  64  and  iv.  2.  93  below. 

51.  Which  may  without  contradiction,  etc.  "  Which,  undoubtedly,  may 
be  publicly  told  "  (Johnson). 

54.  Upon  warrant  of  bloody  affirmation.     That  is,  pledging  himself  to 
seal  the  truth  of  it  with  his  blood.     S.  uses  affirmation  nowhere  else. 

55.  Constant-qualified.     Faithful.     The  folios  have  "Constant,  Quali- 
fied." 

56.  Attemptable.     Liable  to  be  attempted,  or  seduced  ;  the  only  instance 
of  the  word  in  S. 

63.  Though  I  profess  myself  her  adorer,  not  her  friend.  This  may  be 
—  though  I  profess  to  be  only  her  disinterested  admirer,  not  her  personal 
friend.  Johnson  explained  it  thus  :  "  Though  I  have  not  the  common  ob- 
ligations of  a  lover  to  his  mistress,  and  regard  her  not  with  the  fondness 
of  a  friend,  but  with  the  reverence  of  an  adorer."  Mason  suggested  trans- 
posing adorer  znd  friend.  Steevens  took  friend  to  be  =  lover  (as  in  A. 
and  C.  iii.  12.  22,  etc.),  and  Schmidt  gives  the  same  explanation.  W. 
reads  "adorer  and  her  friend;"  making  friend="  accepted  lover." 
Clarke  takes  not  her  friend  to  be  =  "  not  merely  her  friend,"  and  though  = 
"inasmuch  as,  since."  St.  says  :  "  Posthumus,  we  apprehend,  does  not 
mean, — I  avow  myself,  not  simply  her  admirer,  but  her  worshipper  ;  but, 
stung  by  the  scornful  tone  of  lachimo's  remark,  he  answers, — Provoked 
as  I  was  in  France,  I  would  abate  her  nothing,  though  the  declaration  of 
my  opinion  proclaimed  me  her  idolater  rather  than  her  lover." 

69.  Could  not  but.     The  folios  omit  but,  which  Malone  supplied. 

77.  If  there  were,  etc.  The  folios  have  "or  if,"  etc.  If  it  were  not  for 
the  or  immediately  preceding,  which  probably  led  to  the  accidental  repe- 
tition of  the  word,  we  might  take  "or  if"  to  be=" either  if,"  as  J.  H. 
does. 

89.  To  convince.    As  to  overcome.    For  the  ellipsis  of  as,  see  Gr.  281  ; 
and  for  convince,  cf.  Macb.  i.  7.  64  : 

"  his  two  chamberlains 
Will  I  with  wine  and  wassail  so  convince 
That  memory,  the  warder  of  the  brain, 
Shall  be  a  fume,"  etc. 

90.  Nothing.     For  the  adverbial  use,  see  on  i.  i.  86  above. 


172  NOTES, 

93.  Leave.     Leave  off,  desist.     Cf.  ii.  2.  4  below.     See  also  Rich.  II. 

p.  211. 

97.  Go  back.     Give  way.     Cf.  A.  and  C.  v.  2.  155  :  "  What,  goest  thou 
back?" 

98.  To  friend.     For  my  friend,  to  befriend  me.     Cf.  J.  C.  iii.  1. 143  :  "  I 
know  that  we  shall  have  him  well  to  friend,"  etc.    See  Temp.  p.  124,  note 
on  A  paragon  to  their  queen.     Gr.  189. 

100.  Moiety.     Here— half,  but  often  used  for  other  fractions.    See  Ham. 
p.  174. 

101.  Something.     See  on  i.  i.  86  above. 

103.  Herein  too.  The  reading  of  the  3d  folio.  The  earlier  folios  have 
"  to  "  for  too.  W.  reads  "  herein-to,"  and  "  hereunto  "  is  an  anonymous 
conjecture  noted  in  the  Camb.  ed. 

105.  A  great  deal  abused.  Much  deceived.  Cf.  Much  Ado,  v.  2.  100: 
"  Hero  hath  been  falsely  accused,  the  prince  and  Claudio  mightily 
abused,"  etc.  See  also  iii.  4.  102,  120  below. 

115.  Approbation.     Proving,  establishing.     Cf.  Hen.  V.  i.  2.  19  : 

"  For  God  doth  know  how  many,  now  in  health, 
Shall  drop  their  blood  in  approbation 
Of  what  your  reverence  shall  incite  us  to !" 

See  our  ed.  p.  146. 

117.  Whom  in  constancy ^you  think  stands,  etc.  For  the  "confusion  of 
construction,"  cf.  Temp.  iii.  3.  92  :  "  Young  Ferdinand  whom  they  sup- 
pose is  drown'd ;"  K.  John,  iv.  2.  165 :  "  Of  Arthur  whom  they  say  is 
kill'd  to-night,"  etc.  Gr.  410. 

123.  Wage.     Wager,  stake.     Cf.  Lear,  p.  172. 

125.  Afraid.  The  folios  have  "a  friend;"  corrected  by  Theo.  (the 
conjecture  of  Warb.).  The  Coll.  MS.  has  "  afeard."  Clarke  retains  **a 
friend,"  as  a  sneering  allusion  to  what  Posthumus  has  said  in  63  above, 
and  takes  the  meaning  to  be  :  "  You  are  a  friend  (or  lover),  not  an  ador- 
er, and  therein  the  wiser,  since  women  are  not  worthy  of  adoration  and 
worship,  as  immaculate  beings."  He  considers  that  the  use  of  religion 
favours  this  interpretation. 

131.   Undergo.     Undertake,  maintain.     Cf.  iii.  5.  109  below. 

134.  Between  Js.    Changed  by  Pope  to  "  between  us."    See  on  i.  i.  4  above. 

137.  Lay.    Wager  ;  as  in  Oth.  ii.  3.  330  :  "  my  fortunes  against  any  lay 
worth  naming,"  etc. 

138.  If  I  bring  you,  etc.     "  This  is  in  accordance  with  lachimo's  design- 
ing manner.     He  affects  to  state  the  terms  of  the  wager  on  both  sides ; 
but  he,  in  fact,  proposes  them  so  that  they  shall  suggest,  either  way,  Post- 
humus's  winning  "  (Clarke). 

142.  Jewel.     Applied  in  the  time  of  S.  to  any  personal  ornament  of 
gold  or  precious  stones  ;  as  here,  and  in  M.ofV.v.  i.  224,  to  a  ring.     In 
ii.  3.  139  below  it  means  a  bracelet.     Cf.  C.  of  E.  p.  117. 

143.  Provided  I  have,  etc.     That  is,  provided  you  will  commend  (or  in- 
troduce) me  to  her  so  that  I  may  be  readily  received  or  entertained.    Cf. 
119  above.     J.  H.  explains  it  thus  :  "Provided  I  shall  receive  commen- 
dation from  you,  in  the  event  of  my  obtaining  a  more  free  reception." 

145.  Articles.     A  written  agreement.     Cf.  152  just  below. 


ACT  I.    SCENE    V.  I7^ 

147.  Your  voyage  upon  her.  "  Your  venture  upon  her  "  (W.).  Cf.  M. 
W.  ii.  i.  189  :  "If  he  should  intend  this  voyage  towards  my  wife,"  etc 
See  also  T.  N.  iii.  i.  86. 

154.  Starve.     Perish  with  cold  ;  as  in  2  Hen.  VI.  iii.  i.  343  : 
'  I  fear  me  you  but  warm  the  starved  snake, 
Who,  cherish'd  in  your  breasts,  will  sting  your  hearts." 

See  also  Spenser,  Shep.  Kal.  Feb. :  "  The  rather  Lambes  bene  starved 
with  cold"  (where  rather^ earlier-  born),  etc.     The   1st  and  2d  folios 
have  "sterue,"  for  which  form  see  Cor.  p.  233,  or  M.  of  V.  p.  158. 
158.  Will  not  from  it.     Will  not  recede  from  it,  will  not  "back  out." 

SCENE  V.— i.  Whiles.  Used  by  S.  interchangeably  with  while,  which 
Rowe  substituted  here.  Gr.  137. 

2.  Note.  List ;  or  perhaps  "  prescription,  receipt,"  as  Schmidt  explains 
it.  It  has  this  latter  sense  in  A.  W.  i.  3.  232. 

5.  Pleaseth.     If  it  please.     See  2  Hen.  IV.  p.  184.     Gr.  361. 

12.  Learned.  Taught ;  as  often.  See  Rich.  II.  p.  203,  or  Gr.  291.  Cf. 
Ps.  xxv.  4,  8,  cxix.  66  (Prayer-Book  version). 

1 8.  Conclusions.     Experiments  ;  as  in  A.  and  C.  v.  2.  358  : 

"her  physician  tells  me 
She  hath  pursued  conclusions  infinite 
Of  easy  ways  to  die,"  etc. 

22.  Act.     Action.     Cf  Oth.  iii.  3.  328: 

"  Dangerous  conceits  are  in  their  natures  poisons, 
Which  at  the  first  are  scarce  found  to  distaste, 
But  with  a  little  act  upon  the  blood 
Burn  like  the  mines  of  sulphur." 

26.  Content  thee.  Be  at  ease,  do  not  trouble  yourself.  It  is  generally 
=  compose  yourself,  keep  your  temper.  See  R.  and  J.  p.  160. 

32.  Hark  thee.     Here  thee  is  probably  a  corruption  of  thou.     Gr.  212. 

33.  I  do  not  like  her,  etc.    Johnson  criticises  this  soliloquy  as  "  very  in- 
artificial," merely  "a  long  speech  to  tell  himself  what  himself  knows  ;" 
but,  as  Clarke  remarks,  it  is  characteristic  in  "a  reflective  man,  a  stu- 
dent, one  accustomed  to  ponder  upon  his  experiments,  and  to  render  him- 
self an  account  of  the  effects  they  will  produce."     It  also  serves  the  pur- 
pose of"  informing  the  audience  what  is  the  nature  of  the  drugs  thus  en- 
trusted to  the  queen's  power,  and  prepares  for  the  incident  of  Imogen's 
return  to  life  after  having  swallowed  them." 

43.  Truer.     Truer  to  myself,  more  honest. 

47.  Quench.     "  That  is,  grow  cool  "  (Steevens). 

54.  Shift  his  being.     "  Change  his  abode  "  (Johnson). 

56.  Decay.  Destroy.  For  the  transitive  use,  cf.  T.  N.  i.  5.  82:  "in- 
firmity, that  decays  the  wise,"  etc. 

58.  That  leans.     "  That  inclines  towards  its  fall  "  (Johnson). 

64.  Cordial.     Reviving  ;  as  in  iv.  2.  327  below. 

68.  What  a  chance  thou  changest  on.  "  With  what  a  fair  prospect  of 
mending  your  fortunes  you  now  change  your  present  service  "  (Steevens). 
Rowe  has  "chancest "  for  changest,  and  Theo.  "change  thou  chancest." 
W.  adopts  the  latter,  which  is  very  plausible. 


174 


NOTES. 


76.  Shatfd.     For  the  form  cf.  Hen.  V.  ii.  I.  124,  and  T.  and  C.  i.  3.  101. 
See  also  tinshak'd  in  ii.  I.  61  below.     Shaken  occurs  five  times,  but  the 
common  form  in  S.  is  shook.     Cf.  Gr.  343. 

77.  The  remembrancer,  etc.     "One  who  admonishes  her  to  maintain 
the  matrimonial  pledge  towards  her  lord"  (J.  H).     Hand-fast  is  used  by 
S.  only  here  and  in  W.  T.  iv.  4.  795,  where  it  means  confinement,  custody. 

80.  Liegers.  "  A  lieger  ambassador  is  one  that  resides  in  a  foreign  court 
to  promote  his  master's  interest "  (Johnson).  Cf.  M.for  M.  iii.  i.  59 : 

"  Lord  Ahgelo,  having  affairs  to  heaven, 
Intends  you  for  his  swift  ambassador, 
Where  you  shall  be  an  everlasting  lieger." 

83.  The  violets,  cowslips,  etc.  "  The  art  with  which  the  poet  and  dram- 
atist has  placed  these  words  in  the  mouth  of  this  queen  miscreant  is 
worthy  of  remark.  He  makes  her  use  these  beauteous  and  innocent 
products  of  earth  as  mere  cloaks  to  her  wickedness ;  she  concocts 
'perfumes'  and  'confections'  from  them  as  a  veil  to  the  'drugs 'and 
'poisonous  compounds'  which  she  collects  for  the  fellest  purposes.  It 
enhances  the  effect  of  her  guilt,  her  thus  forcing  these  sweet  blossoms  to 
become  accomplices  in  her  vile  schemes  ;  and  we  loathe  her  the  more  for 
her  surrounding  her  unhallowed  self  with  their  loveliness.  Moreover, 
she  is  untouched  by  their  grace ;  she  has  learned  no  lesson  from  their 
exquisite  structure,  colour,  fragrance ;  she  looks  upon  them  as  mere 
means  to  an  end — and  that  end  a  bad  one.  Observe,  too,  how  skilfully 
S.  has  made  this  evil  woman  order  her  ladies  to  '  gather  these  flowers ' — 
how  she  desires  that  they  shall  be  borne  to  her  closet — her  laboratory ; 
not  gathering  or  c.aring  for  them  herself;  not  caring  for  the  touch,  and 
scent,  and  sight  of  these  gentle  things — that  all  good  people  instinctive- 
ly love,  and  cherish,  and  caress.  How  different  is  the  poet's  treatment 
of  the  subject,  where  he  makes  the  virtuous  Friar  Laurence  rise  with  the 
dawn,  himself  to  gather  the  'precious-juiced  flowers,'  '  ere  the  sun  advance 
his  burning  eye  ;'  and  dilating  with  fond  enthusiasm  on  their  'many  vir- 
tues excellent,'  and  philosophizing  on  their  varied  qualities  and  purposes  ! 
Supplementary  to  this  higher  ethical  teaching  of  the  great  moralist,  how 
truly  we  see  the  man  of  rural  natural  knowledge,  in  his  being  aware  of 
the  fact  that  morning-gathered  flowers  remain  longest  fresh  and  unwith- 
ered .'"  (Clarke). 

SCENE  VI. — 4.  Supreme.  Accented  on  the  first  syllable,  as  regularly 
before  a  noun.  Cf.  Cor.  p.  268.  See  also  on  divine,  ii.  I.  55  below ;  and 
cf.  profane  in  ii.  3.  122. 

6.  Most  miserable,  etc.  "  Most  doomed  to  disappointment  is  the  exalt- 
ed aspiration"  (Clarke).  The  1st  folio  has  "desires;"  corrected  in  the 
2d.  Hanmer  changed  the  word  to  "  degree." 

8.  That  have  their  honest  wills,  etc.  "  Who  gratify  their  innocent 
wishes  with  reasonable  enjoyments"  (Johnson).  "  Who  have  the  power 
of  gratifying  their  honest  inclination,  which  circumstance  bestows  an  ad- 
ditional relish  on  comfort  itself"  (Steevens).  Seasons  comfort  is  clearly 
=gives  a  zest  to  happiness.  Cf.  T.  and  C.  i.  2.  278  :  "  the  spice  and  salt 
that  season  a  man." 


ACT  I.     SCENE  VL  !75 

II.  Change  you,  madam  ?  "  How  by  these  three  little  words  the  dram- 
atist lets  us  behold  the  sudden  pallor  and  as  sudden  flush  of  crimson 
that  bespread  the  wife's  face  at  this  instant"  (Clarke). 

17.  The  Arabian  bird.  The  phoenix.  Cf.  A.  Y.  L.  p.  189,  note  on  As 
rare  as  phoenix. 

22.  Note.     See  on  i.  4.  2  above. 

24.  Truest.  The  folios  have  "  trust,"  which  some  retain,  pointing  it  as 
an  unfinished  sentence  ("  trust — ") ;  but  on  the  whole  Hanmer's  emen- 
dation of  truest  seems  preferable.  As  W.  remarks,  "what  Imogen  reads 
is  certainly  the  end,  not  the  beginning,  of  the  letter ;  the  first  word  that 
she  reads,  he,  necessarily  implying  a  previous  mention  and  introduction 
of  lachimo."  So  far,  as  he  adds,  may  very  properly  be  taken  as  =  "so 
much  ;"  and  the  rest  may  refer  as  well  to  what  has  gone  before  as  to  what 
comes  after.  If  "your  trust  "  be  what  S.  wrote,  it  must  mean,  as  Clarke 
makes  it,  "  the  trust  I  repose  in  you  ;"  but,  even  with  that  interpretation, 
the  expression  seems  an  odd  one  here. 

31.  What,  are  men  mad?     Mrs.  Jameson  remarks  on  this  scene  :  "  In 
the  interview  between  Imogen  and  lachimo,  he  does  not  begin  his  attack 
on  her  virtue  by  a  direct  accusation   against  Posthumus ;  but  by  dark 
hints  and  half-uttered  insinuations,  such  as  lago  uses  to  madden  Othello, 
he  intimates  that  her  husband,  in  his  absence  from  her,  has  betrayed  her 
love  and  truth,  and  forgotten  her  in  the  arms  of  another.     All  that  Imo- 
gen says  in  this  scene  is  comprised  in  a  few  lines — a  brief  question,  or  a 
more  brief  remark.    The  proud  and  delicate  reserve  with  which  she  veils 
the  anguish  she  suffers  is  inimitably  beautiful.    The  strongest  expression 
of  reproach  he  can  draw  from  her  is  only,  '  My  lord,  I  fear,  has  forgot 
Britain.'     When  he  continues  in  the  same  strain,  she  exclaims  in  an  ago- 
ny, *  Let  me  hear  no  more.'     When  he  urges  her  to  revenge,  she  asks, 
with  all  the  simplicity  of  virtue,  'How  should  I  be  revenged?'      And 
when  he  explains  to  her  how  she  is  to  be  avenged,  her  sudden  burst  of 
indignation,  and  her  immediate  perception  of  his  treachery,  and  the  mo- 
tive for  it,  are  powerfully  fine  :  it  is  not  only  the  anger  of  a  woman  whose 
delicacy  has  been  shocked,  but  the  spirit  of  a  princess  insulted  in  her 
court.     It  has  been  remarked  [by  Hazlitt]  that '  her  readiness  to  pardon 
lachimo's  false  imputation,  and  his  designs  against  herself,  is  a  good  les- 
son to  prudes,  and  may  show  that  where  there  is  a  real  attachment  to  vir- 
tue, there  is  no  need  of  an  outrageous  antipathy  to  vice.'     This  is  true  ;  but 
can  we  fail  to  perceive  that  the  instant  and  ready  forgiveness  of  Imogen 
is  accounted  for,  and  rendered  more  graceful  and  characteristic,  by  the 
very  means  which  lachimo  employs  to  win  it?     He  pours  forth  the  most 
enthusiastic  praises  of  her  husband,  professes  that  he  merely  made  this 
trial  of  her  out  of  his  exceeding  love  for  Posthumus,  and  she  is  pacified 
at  once  ;  but,  with  exceeding  delicacy  of  feeling,  she  is  represented  as 
maintaining  her  dignified  reserve  and  her  brevity  of  speech  to  the  end 
of  the  scene." 

32.  Crop.     Produce.     The    word   troubled  Warb.,  who    substituted 
"  cope." 

34.  Twinrfd.  "  As  like  as  twins  "  (Steevens).  Johnson  did  not "  un- 
derstand" the  word,  and  conjectured  "twin'd"  =  "  twisted,  convoluted," 


I76  NOTES. 

though,  as  he  added,  "this  sense  is  more  applicable  to  shells  than  to 
stones." 

35.  The  unnumber'd.     The  folios  have  "  the  number'd ;"  corrected  by 
Theo.     Cf.  the  parallel  passage  in  Lear,  iv.  6. 21  : 

"The  murmuring  surge 
That  on  the  unnumber'd  idle  pebble  chafes, 
Cannot  be  heard  so  high." 

Some,  however,  retain  "  number'd,"  which  Clarke  explains  as  "  composed 
of  numbers,"  and  Schmidt  as  "rich  in  numbers,  abundantly  provided." 
Other  emendations  proposed  are  "  the  humbled,"  "  the  humble,"  "  the 
umber'd,"  "  the  cumber'd,"  and  "  Unnumber'd,  on  the  beach." 

36.  Spectacles.     Organs  of  vision,  eyes  ;  as  in  2  Hen.  VI.  iii.  2.  112: 

'"And  even  with  this  I  lost  fair  England's  view, 
And  bid  mine  eyes  be  packing  with  my  heart, 
And  call'd  them  blind  and  dusky  spectacles, 
For  losing  ken  of  Albion's  wished  coast." 

37.  Makes  your  admiration.     Causes  your  astonishment.     See  on  i.  4. 
4  above. 

39.  Shes.     Cf.  i.  3.  29  above. 

40.  Mows.     Grimaces.     Cf.  Temp.  iv.  i.  47 : 

"  Each  one,  tripping  on  his  toe, 
Will  be  here  with  mop  and  mow." 

We  find  the  verb  in  Id.  ii.  2. 9  :  "  Sometime  like  apes,  that  mow  and  chat- 
ter at  me."  See  also  Lear,  p.  234,  note  on  Mopping  and  mowing. 

41.  Favour.     Beauty  ;  as  in  Ham.  iv.  5.  189  and  Oth.  iv.  3.  21.     It  is 
often— personal  appearance,  aspect ;  as  in  iii.  4.  48  and  iv.  2.  105  below. 
Cf.  y.  C.  p.  131,  note  on  Your  outward  favoiir. 

42.  Be  wisely  definite.     Be  wise  in  deciding,  or  "  wisely  free  from  hesi- 
tation "  (Schmidt).     S.  uses  definite  nowhere  else. 

44.  Vomit  emptiness.  Warb.  explained  the  passage  thus  :  "  That  appe- 
tite which  is  not  allured  to  feed  on  such  excellence  can  have  no  stom- 
ach at  all,  but,  though  empty,  must  nauseate  every  thing."  Johnson,  on 
the  other  hand,  interpreted  it  thus :  "  Desire,  says  he,  when  it  approached 
sluttery,  and  considered  it  in  comparison  with  such  neat  excellence,  would 
not  only  be  not  so  allured  to  feed,  but,  seized  with  a  fit  of  loathing,  would 
vomit  emptiness,  would  feel  the  convulsions  of  disgust,  though,  being  un- 
fed, it  had  no  object."  Later,  in  defending  his  explanation,  he  added  this 
thoroughly  Johnsonian  definition  :  "  To  vomit  emptiness  is,  in  the  language 
of  poetry,  to  feel  the  convulsions  of  eructation  without  plenitude."  Ma- 
lone  remarks  that  "  no  one  who  has  been  ever  sick  at  sea  can  be  at  a  loss 
to  understand  what  is  meant  by  vomiting  emptiness."  Johnson  evidently 
had  the  right  idea  of  the  passage,  which  must  mean  that  desire  would 
turn  to  disgust  and  nausea,  not  from  satiety,  but  before  it  was  gratified. 
The  Coll.  MS.  has  "to  emptiness,"  which  W.  adopts. 

48.  Ravening.  Ravenously  devouring.  Cf.  Macb.  p.  204,  note  on  Rav- 
in up.  Here  the  spelling  of  the  folio  is  "  Rauening."  Cf.  R.  and  J.  iii. 
2.  76,  where  it  has  "  Woluish-rauening  Lambe." 

50.  Raps.     Apparently  the  verb  of  which  rapt  (  —  transported)  is  the 


ACT  I.     SCENE  VI.  !77 

participle,  though  rarely  found  in  the  indicative.  Cf.  Wb.  W.  reads 
"  wraps." 

51.  Desire  my  marts  abode.     That  is,  ask  him  to  remain. 

53.  Strange  and  peevish.  "A  foreigner  and  a  simpleton"  (Clarke). 
For  strange,  cf.  190  below  ;  and  for  peevish=- silly,  foolish,  see  Hen.  V.  p. 
171.  For  a  very  clear  instance  of  this  sense,  see  Lyly,  Endymion  (quoted 
by  Nares)  :  "There  never  was  any  so  peevish  to  imagine  the  moone 
either  capable  of  affection  or  shape  of  a  mistris."  Steevens  explained 
strange  as  "shy,  or  backward," 

58.  None  a.  Changed  by  Hanmer  to  "  Not  a."  Cf.  i.  4.  88  above  : 
"  none  so  accomplished  a  courtier,"  etc. 

60.  Briton.     The  folios  have  "  Britaine  "  or  "  Britain." 

65.  Gallian.  The  word  occurs  again  in  I  Hen.  VLv.^.  139.  S.  does 
not  use  Gallic. 

Furnaces.     The  only  instance  of  the  verb  in  S.     Cf.  A.  Y.  L.  ii.  7. 148 : 

"And  then  the  lover, 
Sighing  like  furnace,"  etc. 

67.  From  V.     See  on  i.  I.  4  above. 

69.  Proof.     Experience  ;  as  in  iii.  3.  27  below. 

71.  Languish  for*  As  arranged  by  Steevens;  in  the  folio  for  begins 
the  next  line.  Pope  reads  "languish  out  For  assured,"  etc.  Clarke 
thinks  that  his  may  be  a  misprint  for  "  in  's." 

75,  76.  And  hear  .  .  .  blame.  Pope's  arrangement ;  two  lines  in  the 
folio,  the  first  ending  with  Frenchman. 

79.  Account  his.  The  Coll.  MS,  omits  his*  Clarke  points  the  line 
thus  :  "  In  you, — which  I  count  his, — beyond  all  talents  "  (that  is,  heaven's 
bounty  is  in  you  "  beyond  all  sums  of  wealth"). 

83.  Wrack.     The  only  spelling  of  wreck  in  the  early  eds.     It  rhymes 
to  alack  in  Per.  iv.  prol.  12,  and  to  back  in  V,  and  A.  558,  R.  of  L.  841,  965, 
Sonn.  126.  5,  and  Macb.  v.  5.  51. 

84.  Deserves.     For  the  omission  of  the  relative,  see  Gr.  244. 

85.  Solace.     Find  solace  or  happiness,     Cf.  Rich,  III.  ii.3.  30  :  "This 
sickly  land  might  solace  as  before  ;"  and  R.  and  J.  iv.  5.  47  :  "  But  one 
thing  to  rejoice  and  solace  in." 

86.  Snuff.     That  is,  a  snuffed  candle.     Cf.  Ham.  iv.  7.  116;  and  see 
also  Lear,  p.  244. 

91.  Venge.     Not  "  'venge,"  as  often  printed.     Cf.  Rich.  II.  p.  158. 
94.  Doubting  things  go  ill.     Suspecting  or  fearing  that  things  go  ill. 

Cf.  K.John,\v.  i.  19: 

"but  that  I  doubt 
My  uncle  practises  more  harm  to  me." 

See  also  Ham.  pp.  187,  202. 

96.  Or,  timely  knowing,  etc.  Elliptically  expressed,  though  the  sense 
is  clear.  Hanmer  changed  knowing  to  "  known,"  and  remedy  to  "  rem- 
edy's." 

98.  What  both  you  spur  and  stop.  "  What  it  is  that  at  once  incites  you 
to  speak  and  restrains  you  from  it"  (Johnson) ;  or  "  what  you  seem  anx- 
ious to  utter,  and  yet  withhold"  (Mason).  Cf.  W.  T.  ii.  I.  187:  "Shall 
stop  or  spur  me."  ' 

M 


I?8  NOTES. 

100.  Every.     Changed  in  the  3d  folio  to  "very." 

103.  Fixing.     The  reading  of  the  2d  folio;  the  ist  has  "Fiering." 

107.  By-peeping.     Giving  sidelong  glances.     The  hyphen  was  inserted 
by  K.     The  Coll.  MS.  has  "bo-peeping." 

108.  Unlustrous.    Rowe's  emendation  of  the  "  illustrious  "  of  the  folios. 
Coll.  reads  "  illustrous  ;"  but,  as  D.  notes,  that  word,  in  the  only  instance 
that  has  been  cited  (in  Chapman's  Odyssey),  is— illustrious. 

in.  Encounter  such  revolt.  "  Meet  such  apostasy  "  (J.  H.).  Revolt  is 
often  used  of  faithlessness  in  love  ;  as  in  R.  and  J.  iv.  1. 58,  Oth.  iii.  3. 188, 
etc.  Cf.  iii.  4.  54  below. 

115.  Mutest.     That  would  otherwise  be  most  silent.     Abbott  (Gr.  8) 
thinks  it  may  mean  "the  mutest  part  or  corner  of  my  conscience." 

116.  Charms.     The  plural  relative  often  takes  a  singular  verb.     See 
Gr.  247. 

1 19.  Empery.     Empire  ;    as  in  Rich.  III.  iii.  7.  136 :  "  Your  right  of 
birth,  your  empery,  your  own,"  etc. 

1 20.  Greafst.     See  on  i.  i.  96  above. 

121.  Tomboys.     Hoidens  ;  the  only  instance  of  the  word  in  S. 

That  self  exhibition.  "The  very  pension  which  you  allow  your  hus- 
band "  (Johnson).  For  se!f=same,  cf.  M.  of  V.  i.  1. 148 :  "  that  ^elf  way  ;" 
C.  of  E.  v.  i.  10  :  "  that  self  chain,"  etc.  Gr.  20.  For  exhibition  —  allow- 
ance (the  only  sense  in  S.),  cf.  T.  G.  of  V.  \.  3.  69  : 

"What  maintenance  he  from  his  friends  receives, 
Like  exhibition  thou  shalt  have  from  me." 

See  also  Lear,  \.  2. 25,  Oth.  i.  3.  238,  iv.  3.  75,  etc. 
123.  Play.     The  Coll.  MS.  has  "pay." 
127.  Recoil.     Fall  off,  prove  degenerate  ;  as  in  Macb.  iv.  3.  19 : 


"A  good  and  virtuous  nature  may  recoil 
In  an  imperial  charge." 


129.  As.     For.     For  suck  .  .  .  that,  see  on  i.  4.  46  above.     Gr.  279. 

130.  Abuse.     Deceive.     See  on  i.  4.  105  above.     "Noble  Imogen!" 
exclaims  Clarke,  "model  to  your  sister  women,  for  love  with  warmth 
of  impulse  in  it,  yet  not  such  impulse  as  carries  temper  and  judgment 
away !" 

131.  Me.     W.  reads  "thee;"  but  lachimo  is  putting  himself  in  Imo- 
gen's place.     The  change  of  person  in  the  latter  part  of  the  sentence  is 
not  uncommon  in  S.     Cf.  31-35  above,  and  see  on  i.  i.  118. 

132.  Priest,  betwixt.     Changed  by  Hanmer  to  "priestess,  'twixt ;"  but 
cf.  Per.  v.  i.  243  :  "  my  maiden  priests,"  etc. 

133.  Ramps.    "  Leaps  "  (Schmidt).     Cf.  Milton,  S.  A.  139 :  "  Fled  from 
his  lion  ramp  "  (spring,  or  attack).     So  the  verb = leap,  in  P.  L.  iv.  343  : 
"  Sporting  the  lion  ramp'd."     Cf.  K.  John,  p.  154.     Some  take  the  noun 
here  to  be  =  harlots.     S.  uses  it  nowhere  else. 

138.  What  ho,  Pisanio!  "Observe  how,  upon  the  villain  revealing 
himself,  she  does  not  even  answer  him,  but  calls  her  faithful  servant  to 
her  side  before  replying"  (Clarke). 

148.  Acquainted  of.  Cf.  Much  Ado,  iii.  i.  40:  "  to  acquaint  her  of  it," 
etc. 


ACT  II.     SCENE  I. 


179 


150.  Saucy.     Often  used  by  S.  in  a  stronger  sense  than  the  modern 
one.     Cf.  Oth.  \.  I.  129  :  "  bold  and  saucy  wrongs ;"  J.  C.  i.  3.  12  : 

"  Or  else  the  world,  too  saucy  with  the  gods, 
Incenses  them  to  send  destruction,"  etc. 

151.  Romish.     Apparently  contemptuous  for  Roman,  but  not  always  so 
used.    Steevens  cites  Glapthorne,  Wit  in  a  Constable:  "A  Romish  cirque 
or  Grecian  hippodrome ;"   and  Drant,  Horace :  "  The  Romishe  people 
wise  in  this,"  etc. 

153.  Who.    Changed  to  "  whom  "  in  the  2d  fol.    Cf.  iv.  2.  77  below,  and 
see  Gr.  274. 

154.  Not  respects.     A  common  transposition.     Cf.  Temp,  ii.  I.  121 :  "  I 
not  doubt,"  etc.     See  also  iv.  4.  23  below.    Gr.  305. 

159.  Sir.  Cf.  174  and  v.  5.  145  below.  It  is  sometimes  ironical,  as  in 
i.  i.  1 66  above. 

161.  Most  'worthiest.     For  the  double  superlative,  see  Gr.  u.     Pope 
"  corrected  "  it  into  "  most  worthy."     Cf.  ii.  3.  2  and  iv.  2.  319  below. 

162.  Affiance.     Faith,  fidelity.  '  Cf.  Hen.  V.  ii.2.  127  :  "The  sweetness 
of  affiance,"  etc. 

165.  Witch.     For  the  masculine  use,  cf.  C.  of  E.  iv.  4.  160  and  A.  and 
C.  i.  2.  40. 

166.  Into.     Changed  by  Hanmer  to  *'  unto."    Clarke  remarks  that  the 
word  "  accords  with  the  image  presented  of  enchanting  those  around  him 
into  his  magic  circle." 

168.  Descended.     The  first  folio  has  "defended  ;"  corrected  in  the  2cl. 

169.  Sets.     For  the  omission  of  the  relative,  cf.  84  above. 

171.  Adventured.  Ventured;  as  in  W.  T.  iv.  4.  470,  R.  and  J.v.-$.  II, 
etc. 

176.  Fan.  The  metaphor  is  taken  from  the  process  of  winnowing 
grain,  as  chaffless  shows.  Cf.  Hen.  VIII.  v.  i.  ill : 

**  I  humbly  thank  your  highness ; 
And  am  right  glad  to  catch  this  good  occasion 
Most  throughly  to  be  winnow'd,  where  my  chaff 
And  corn  shall  fly  asunder." 

190.  Curious.  Careful.  Cf.  A.  W.  i.  2.  20  :  "  Frank  nature,  rather  curi- 
ous than  in  haste ;"  and  see  our  ed.  p.  138.  For  strange,  see  on  53 
above. 

199.  Short.  Impair,  infringe.  For  the  antithesis,  cf.  P.  P.  210 :  "  Short, 
night,  to-night,  and  length  thyself  to-morrow." 

206.  Outstood.     "  Outstaid  "  (the  reading  of  the  Coll.  MS.).    S.  uses  the 
word  only  here,  and  outstay  only  in  A.  Y.  L.  i.  3.  90. 

207.  The  tender  of  our  present.     The  presentation  of  our  gift. 


ACT  II. 

SCENE  I. — I.  Kissed  the  jack^  etc.  "  He  is  describing  his  fate  at  bowls. 
The/#<:/£is  the  small  bowl  at  which  the  others  are  aimed.  He  who  is 
nearest  to  it  wins.  To  kiss  the  jack  is  a  state  of  great  advantage  "  (John- 


l8o  NOTES. 

son).  Upon  an  up-cast  means  "by  a  throw  from  another  bowler  directed 
straight  up," 

3.  Take  me  up.  Rebuke,  scold  ;  with  a  play  upon  the  expression.  Cf. 
Much  Ado,  p.  148,  and  A.  W.  p.  154  (note  on  205). 

16.  Smelt.     For  the  quibble  on  rank,  cf.  A.  Y.  L.  i.  2.  113. 

20.  Jack-slave.     A  term  of  contempt ;  like  Jack  in  Rich.  III.  i.  3.  72  : 

"  Since  every  Jack  became  a  gentleman, 
There  's  many  a  gentle  person  made  a  Jack." 

See  also  Much  Ado,  p.  164. 

22.  And  capon  too.  Perhaps  with  a  play  on  "  cap  on,"  that  is,  the  fool's 
coxcomb  (Schmidt).  See  Lear,  p.  186. 

24.  Sayest  thou  ?     What  do  you  say  ?     Cf.  iv.  2.  379  below  :  "  Say  you, 
sir  ?"     See  also  Oth.  iii.  4.  82,  etc. 

25.  Undertake  every  companion.    Give  satisfaction  to  every  fellow.    For 
the  contemptuous  use  of  companion,  see  Temp.  p.  131,  note  on  Your  fel- 
low.    Johnson  transferred  this  speech  to  the  first  lord,  but  it  is  probably 
an  ironical  reply  to  Cloten's  question  as  to  what  he  is  saying  to  himself. 

46.  Issues.     Proceedings,  acts. 

50.  As  is.     Pope  omitted  is. 

53.  For  his  heart.  For  his  life,  as  we  should  say.  Cf.  M.  of  V.  v.  I. 
165,  T.ofS.i.  2.  38,  etc. 

55.  Divine.  Accented  on  the  first  syllable,  probably  because  preced- 
ing the  noun.  Cf.  iv.  2.  170  below,  and  see  Cor.  p.  255.  See  also  on 
supreme,  i.  6.  4  above. 

61.  Unshak'd.  Cf.  J*  C.  iii.  I.  70:  "  Unshak'd  of  motion."  Elsewhere 
(twice)  we  have  unshaken.  Cf.  sha&d  in  i.  5.  76  above. 

SCENE  II. — 4.  Left.     Left  off;  as  in  i.  4.  93  above. 
9.  Fairies.     For  malignant  fairies,  cf.  Ham.  i.  I.  163,  C.  of  E.  ii.  2. 191, 
iv.  2.  35  (see  our  ed.  p.  136),  etc. 

13.  Rushes.     In  the  time  of  S.  floors  were  strewn  with  rushes.     See 
Rich.  II.  p.  167,  note  on  The  presence  strew1  d.     S.  transfers  the  custom  to 
Rome,  as  in  R.  of  L.  316  :  "  He  takes  it  [a  glove]  from  the  rushes  where 
it  lies." 

14.  Cytherea.     Venus.     Cf.  T.  of  S.  ind.  2.  53  and  W.  T.  iv.  4.  122. 

15.  Bravely.     Well,  admirably  ;  as  in  ii.  4.  73  below.     Cf.  the  adjective 
in  iv.  2.  319  below. 

1 6.  Whiter  than  the  sheets.     Cf.  V.  and  A.  398  :  "  Teaching  the  sheets 
a  whiter  hue  than  white  ;"  and  R.  of  L.  472  :  **  Who  o'er  the  white  sheets 
peers  her  whiter  chin." 

22.  Windows.     The  eyelids;  as  in  R.and  J.  iv.  I.  100  (see  our  ed.  p. 
172,  note  on  Grey  eye},  Rich.  III.  v.  3.  116,  etc.     The  white  and  azure, 
etc.,  refers  to  the  white  skin  laced  with  blue  veins.     Exquisite  as  the  de- 
scription is,  the  commentators  have  not  been  willing  to  let  it  alone.    Han- 
mer  reads  "those  curtains  white  with  azure  lac'd,  The  blue,"  etc. ;  and 
Warb.  "  these  windows  :  white  with  azure  lac'd,  The  blue,"  etc. 

23.  Tinct.     Dye;  as  in  Ham.  iii.  4.  91  :  "will  not  leave  their  tinct." 
In  A.  W.  v.  3.  102  and  A.  and  C.  \.  5.  37,  the  word  means  the  "tincture  " 
or  "  grand  elixir  "  of  the  alchemists. 


p 
b 


ACT  II.    SCENE  III.  l  8  r 

Design.  In  the  1st  folio  some  copies  have  an  interrogation-point  and 
some  a  period  after  the  word.  The  3d  folio  has  "  designe's,"  and  the 
4th  "  design's." 

26.   The  arras  -figures.     The  folio  has  "  the  Arras,  Figures,"  which  is 
followed  by  some  of  the  modern  editors  ;  but  Mason's  emendation  in  the 
text  is  to  be  preferred.     It  is  \h&  figures  of  the  tapestry  that  he  wishes 
articularly  to  note  ;  though  he  remembers  the  material  also,  as  we  see 
y  ii.  4.  69  below. 

31.  Ape.     Cf.  W.  T.  v.  2.  108  :  "Julio  Romano,  who  .  .  .  would  beguile 
Nature  of  her  custom,  so  perfectly  he  is  her  ape." 

32.  As  a  monument.     S.  was  thinking  of  the  recumbent  full-length  fig- 
ures so  common  on  the  tombs  of  his  day.     Cf.  R.  of  L.  391  :  "  Where 
like  a  virtuous  monument  she  lies." 

34.  The  Gordian  knot.  Cf.  Hen.  V.\.  l.  46:  "The  Gordian  knot  of 
it  he  will  unloose." 

37.  Madding.     Cf.  iv.  2.  314  below.     S.  does  not  use  madden. 

38.  Cinque-spotted.     Having  five  spots.     For  the  position  of  the  mole 
see  p.  ii  (foot-note)  above. 

41.  Force  him  think.     For  the  omission  of  the  infinitive  to,  see  Or.  349. 
45.  The  tale  of  Tereus.     Cf.  T.  A.  ii.  4.  26  fol.,  iv.  i.  48  fol.,  and  R.  of  L. 

II28fol. 

48.  Dragons  of  the  night.     Cf.  M.  N.  D.  iii.  2.  379  :  "  For  night's  swift 
dragons  cut  the  clouds  full  fast  ;"  T.  and  C.  v.  8.  17  :  "  The  dragon  wing 
of  night  ;"  Milton,  //  Pens.  59  :  "  While   Cynthia   checks   her   dragon 
yoke,"  etc. 

49.  Bare.     The  folios  have  "  beare  "  or  "  bear."     Pope  reads  "  ope," 
and  the  Coll.  MS.  has  "dare." 

50.  This.     Walker  plausibly  conjectures  "  this'  "  (this  is).     See  Leary 
p.  246. 

SCENE  III.  —  2.  Most  coldest.     See  on  i.  6.  161  above. 

13.  So.     Be  it  so,  well  and  good  ;  as  often.     See  M.  of  V.  p.  136. 

15.  After.     Often  =  afterwards.     See  Gr.  26. 

17.  At  heaverfs  gate  sings.     Cf.  Sonn.  29.  II  : 

"  Like  to  the  lark,  at  break  of  day  arising 
From  sullen  earth,  sings  hymns  at  heaven's  gate." 

See  also  Milton,  P.  L.  v.  198  : 

"  ye  birds, 
That  singing  up  to  heaven-gate  ascend." 

Reed  suggests  that  S.  had  Lyly's  Alexander  and  Campaspe  in  mind  : 

"who  is  't  now  we  hear? 
None  but  the  lark  so  shrill  and  clear; 
Now  at  heaven's  gate  she  claps  her  wings, 
The  morn  not  waking  till  she  sings. 
Hark,  hark,"  etc. 

18.  Gins.     Begins;  but  not  a  contraction  of  that  word.     See  Macb.  p. 

20.  Lies.  For  the  form,  see  on  charms,  i.  6.  116  above.  Cf.  V.  and  A. 
1  128:  "  two  lamps,  burnt  out,  in  darkness  lies." 


l82  NOTES. 

21.  Winking.  Often=with  shut  eyes.  Cf.  ii.  4.  89,  v.  4.  182,  186  be- 
low. Mary -buds — marigolds. 

23.  With  every  thing  that  pretty  is.  Hanmer  reads  "  With  all  the  things 
that  pretty  bin  ;"  and  Warb.  also  has  "  bin  "  for  is.  The  rhyme  is  not  nec- 
essary in  this  ballad  measure. 

26.  Consider.     Pay,  requite  ;  with  possibly  a  quibbling  reference  to  the 
other  sense,  as  Clarke  believes.     Cf.  W.  T.  iv.  4.  825  :  "  being  something 
gently  considered  [if  I  have  a  gentlemanlike  consideration  given  me],  I  '11 
bring  you  where  he  is  aboard."     So  in  The  lie  of  Gulls,  1633  :  "Thou 
shalt  be  well  considered,  there  's  twenty  crowns  in  earnest." 

27.  Vice.     The  folios  have  "voyce"  or  "voice;"  corrected  by  Rowe. 
The  Coll.  MS.  has  "fault." 

28.  Calves'1 -guts.     Changed  by  Rowe  to  "  cat's-guts  ;"  but,  according 
to  Sir  John  Hawkins,  Mersennus,  in  his  De  Instrtimentis  Harmonicis, 
says  that  chords  of  musical  instruments  are  made  of "  metal  and  the  in- 
testines of  sheep  or  any  other  animals." 

33.  Fatherly.     Adjectives  in  -ly  are  often  used  adverbially.     Gr.  I. 
39.  Minion.     Favourite,  darling  (Fr.  mignon)',  with  a  touch  of  con- 
tempt.    See  Temp.  p.  136,  or  Macb.  p.  153. 

43.  Vantages.     Opportunities  ;  as  in  i.  3.  24  above. 

44.  Prefer.     Recommend  ;  as  in  iv.  2.  386,  400  below.     Cf.  M.  of  V.  p. 
140. 

45.  Solicits.     The  reading  of  the  2d  folio  ;  the  ist  has  "  solicity."    Coll. 
reads  "soliciting."     For  be  friended,  Pope  has  "befriended,"  referring  to 
solicits:  "with  solicitations  not  only  proper  but  well  timed"  (Mason). 

51.  Senseless.     "The  cunning  queen  uses  this  word  with  the  significa- 
tion of  unconscious  ;  her  obtuse  son  affrontedly  disclaims  it,  as  signifying 
stupid,  devoid  of  sense.     The  angry  susceptibility  and  tetchiness  of  igno- 
rance, just  sufficiently  aware  of  its  own  incapacity  to  be  perpetually  afraid 
that  it  is  found  out  and  insulted  by  others,  blended  with  the  stolid  conceit 
that  invariably  accompanies  this  inadequate  self-knowledge,  are  all  ad- 
mirably delineated  in  Cloten  :  he  is  a  dolt  striving  to  pass  for  an  accom- 
plished prince,  a  vulgar  boor  fancying  himself,  and  desirous  of  being  taken 
for,  a  thorough  gentleman  "  (Clarke). 

52.  So  like  you.     If  it  please  you.     Cf.  M.for-M.  ii.  I.  33  :  "  Here,  if  it 
like  your  honour,"  etc.     Cf.  Ham.  p.  202,  note  on  Likes.     Gr.  297. 

57.  His  goodness  forespent  on  us.  "The  good  offices  done  by  him  to 
us  heretofore  "  (Warb).  Else  where  forespent  means  past,  foregone  (Hen. 
V.  ii.  4.  36)  and  exhausted  (2  Hen.  IV.  i.  I.  37).  "  According  to,  before  the 
honour,  allows  according  to  or  for  the  sake  of  to  be  elliptically  understood 
before  his  goodness"  (Clarke). 

65.  Line.     Cf.  Per.  iv.  6.  63  :  "  He  will  line  your  apron  with  gold." 

67.  Diana's  rangers.    Diana's  nymphs  ;  literally,  her  forest  rangers,  or 
game-keepers.    Yor false  as  a  verb,  cf.  C.  of  E.  ii.  2. 95  :  "a  thing  falsing ;" 
and  see  our  ed.  p.  120. 

68.  Stand.     "The  station  of  huntsmen  waiting  for  game"  (Schmidt). 
Cf.  iii.  4.  108  below.     See  also  M.  W.  v.  5.  248,  L.  L.  L.  iv.  I.  10,  etc. 

69.  True.     Honest.     For  the  antithesis  to  thief,  cf.  V.  and  A.  724 : 
"  Rich  preys  make  true  men  thieves  ;"  M.for  M.  iv.  2.  46  :  "  Every  true 


ACT  If.     SCENE  III.  X83 

man's  apparel  fits  your  thief;"  Much  Ado,  iii.  3.  54 :  "  If  you  meet  a  thief, 
you  may  suspect  him,  by  virtue  of  your  office,  to  be  no  true  man,"  etc. 

73.  Yet  not  understand.  For  the  transposition  of  yet,  see  Gr.  76.  Cf. 
v.  5.  468  below. 

79.  Is  she  ready  ?  Is  she  dressed  ?  Ready  was  often  used  in  this  spe- 
cial sense  (cf.  Macb.  p.  202,  note  on  Put  on  manly  readiness),  but  the  lady 
chooses  to  take  it  in  its  more  general  signification. 

85.  You  lay  out  too  much  pains,  etc.  Mrs.  Jameson  remarks :  "  Cloten 
is  odious  ;*  but  we  must  not  overlook  the  peculiar  fitness  and  propriety 
of  his  character,  in  connection  with  that  of  Imogen.  He  is  precisely  the 
kind  of  man  who  would  be  most  intolerable  to  such  a  woman.  He  is  a 
fool, — so  is  Slender,  and  Sir  Andrew  Aguecheek  :  but  the  folly  of  Cloten 
is  not  only  ridiculous,  but  hateful  ;  it  arises  not  so  much  from  a  want  of 
understanding  as  a  total  want  of  heart ;  it  is  the  perversion  of  sentiment, 
rather  than  the  deficiency  of  intellect ;  he  has  occasional  gleams  of  sense, 
but  never  a  touch  of  feeling.  Imogen  describes  herself  not  only  as 
'sprighted  with  a  fool,'  but  as  'frighted  and  anger'd  worse.'  No  other 
fool  but  Cloten — a  compound  of  the  booby  and  the  villain — could  excite 
in  such  a  mind  as  Imogen's  the  same  mixture  of  terror,  contempt,  and 
abhorrence.  The  stupid,  obstinate  malignity  of  Cloten,  and  the  wicked 
machinations  of  the  queen — 

'  A  father  cruel,  and  a  step-dame  false, 
A  foolish  suitor  to  a  wedded  lady' — 

justify  whatever  might  need  excuse  in  the  conduct  of  Imogen — as  her 
concealed  marriage  and  her  flight  from  her  father's  court — and  serve  to 
call  out  several  of  the  most  beautiful  and  striking  parts  of  her  character : 
particularly  that  decision  and  vivacity  of  temper  which  in  her  harmonize 
so  beautifully  with  exceeding  delicacy,  sweetness,  and  submission. 

"  In  the  scene  with  her  detested  suitor,  there  is  at  first  a  careless  majes- 
ty of  disdain,  which  is  admirable.  .  .  .  But  when  he  dares  to  provoke  her, 
by  reviling  the  absent  Fosthumus,  her  indignation  heightens  her  scorn, 
and  her  scorn  sets  a  keener  edge  on  her  indignation." 

89.  ^Twere  as  deep  with  me.  It  would  make  as  deep  an  impression 
upon  me.  Deep  is  elsewhere  associated  with  swearing  ;  as  in  Sonn.  152. 
9  :  "  I  have  sworn  deep  oaths  ;"  JR.  of  L.  1847  :  "  that  deep  vow ;"  and 
K.  John,  iii.  I.  231 :  "  deep-sworn  faith." 

94.  Equal  discourtesy,  etc.   That  is,  discourtesy  equal  to  your  best  kind- 
ness.    For  the  transposition,  see  Gr.  4190. 

95.  Knowing.     See  on  i.  4.  26  above. 

*  The  character  of  Cloten  has  been  pronounced  by  some  unnatural,  by  others  incon- 
sistent, and  by  others  obsolete.  The  following  passage  occurs  in  one  of  Miss  Seward's 
letters,  vol.  iii.  p.  246 :  "  It  is  curious  that  Shakspeare  should,  in  so  singular  a  character 
as  Cloten,  have  given  the  exact  prototype  of  a  being  whom  I  once  knew.  The  unmean- 
ing frown  of  countenance,  the  shuffling  gait,  the  burst  of  voice,  the  bustling  insignificance, 
the  fever-and-ague  fits  of  valor,  the  froward  tetchiness,  the  unprincipled  malice,  and,  what 
is  more  curious,  those  occasional  gleams  of  good  sense  amidst  the  floating  clouds  of  folly 
which  generally  darkened  and  confused  the  man's  brain,  and  which,  in  the  character  of 
Cloten,  we  are  apt  to  impute  to  a  violation  of  unity  in  character ;  but  in  the  sometime 
Captain  C ,  I  saw  that  the  portrait  of  Cloten  was  not  out  of  nature." 


1 84  NOTES. 

96.  Should  learn,  being  taught,  etc.  "  A  man  who  is  tattgkt  forbearance 
should  learn  it"  (Johnson). 

99.  Fools  are  not  mad  folks.  "  This,  as  Cloten  very  well  understands 
it,  is  a  covert  mode  of  calling  him  fool.  The  meaning  implied  is  this: 
If  I  am  mad,  as  you  tell  me,  I  am  what  you  can  never  be,  '  Fools  are 
not  mad  folks '  "  (Steevens).  Theo.  (at  the  suggestion  of  Warb.)  changed 
are  to  "  cure,"  which  W.  adopts.  It  certainly  gives  a  simpler  sense,  and 
is  favoured  by  the  cures  just  below,  but  no  change  is  imperatively  de- 
manded. 

104.  Verbal.     "  Verbose,  full  of  talk  "  (Johnson).     Schmidt  makes  it  = 
"  plain-spoken,  wording  one's  thoughts  without  reserve ;"   and  Clarke 
thinks  it  implies  "  so  explicit,  so  expressing  in  speech  that  which  I  think 
of  you." 

105.  Which.     Changed  by  Pope  to  "who;"  but  which  is  often  =who 
in  Elizabethan  English.     Gr.  265. 

117.  Self -figured.     Formed   by  themselves   (Johnson).     Warb.  called 
it  "nonsense,"  and  adopted  "  self-fingered"  (the  conjecture  of  Theo.). 

1 1 8.  Curb  d  from  that  enlargement.     Restrained  from  that  liberty. 

119.  Consequence.     Succession.     Schmidt  thinks  it  may  possibly  mean 
"  considerations  affecting  the  crown." 

For  soil  the  folios  have  "  foyle  ;"  corrected  by  Hanmer. 

120.  Note.     Distinction,  eminence.     Cf.  i.  4.  2  and  i.  6.  22  above. 

121.  Hilding.    Hireling,  menial.     See  R.  and  J.  p.  172  ;  and  for  the  ad- 
jective use,  Hen.  V.  p.  1 76.    For  =  only  fit  for.    A  squire 's  clotk  =  a.  lackey's 
dress. 

122.  Pantler.     The  servant  who  had  charge  of  the  pantry.     Cf.  W.  T. 
iv.  4.  56  :   "  pantler,  butler,  cook  ;"  and  2  Hen.  IV.  ii.  4.  258  :  "  a'  would 
have  made  a  good  pantler,  a'  would  have  chipped  bread  well." 

Profane.  Accented  on  the  first  syllable,  because  preceding  the  noun. 
Cf.  Oth.  i.  I.  115  :  "  What  profane  wretch  art  thou?"  See  on  divine,  ii. 

1.  55  above. 

127.  Comparative  for  yonr  virtues.  That  is,  if  the  office  were  given  you 
in  comparison  with,  or  with  regard  to,  your  merits. 

129.  Preferred.  Promoted,  advanced  ;  as  in  v.  5.  326  below.  See  also 
Oth.  p.  175. 

The  south-fog  rot  him!  Cf.  T.  and  C.v.  I.  21  :  "the  rotten  diseases 
of  the  south ;"  2  Hen.  IV.  ii.  4.  392 :  "  the  south  borne  with  black  vapour," 
etc.  See  also  iv.  2.  350  below,  and  cf.  Cor.  p.  206. 

132.  Clipfd.     Embraced.     Cf.  v.  5.  450  below;  and  see  W.  T.  p.  210, 
or  Oth.  p.  192. 

133.  Above.     Changed  by  Sr.  (2d  ed.)  to  "about." 

134.  How  now,  Pisanio.     Hanmer  transferred  Plow  now  ?  to  Cloten. 

136.  Presently.     Immediately ;  the  most  common  sense  in  S.     Cf.  iii. 

2.  74  and  iv.  2.  167  below.     So  present^ immediate  ;  as  in  ii.  4.  136  be- 
low. 

137.  Sfirited  with.     Haunted  by.     For  wtiti=by,  see  Gr.  193. 

139.  Jeivel.     See  on  i.4.  142  above. 

140.  'Shrew  me.    Beshrew  me  ;  a  mild  form  of  imprecation,  often  used 
as  a  mere  asseveration.     See  M.N.D.  p.  152. 


ACT  77.    SCENE  7K  jg^ 

141.  Revenue.     Accented  by  S.  on  the  first  or  second  syllable,  as  suits 
the  measure.     See  M.  N.  D.  p.  125,  or  Gr.  490. 

142.  King's.     The    folios    have    "kings,"  and    Pope   reads    "king." 
King's  is  due  to  Rowe. 

144.  Kiss'd.  Pope  reads  "  kissed  "  (dissyllabic)  for  the  measure,  and 
Keightley  "for  I  kiss'd  it." 

149.  If  you,  etc.  Hanmer  reads  "  Call  witness  to  't,  if  you  will  make  't 
an  action." 

151.  She^s  my  good  lady.  She  's  my  good  friend;  spoken  ironically 
(Malone). 

SCENE  IV.— 2.  Bold.  Confident ;  as  in  A.  W.  v.  i.  5 :  "Be  bold  you 
do  so  grow  in  my  requital,"  etc. 

6.  Fear'd.  Mingled  with  fear.  K.  and  Clarke  adopt  Tyrwhitt's  con- 
jecture of  "sear'd." 

12.  Throughly.  Thoroughly;  as  in  iii.  6.  36  below.  Cf.  through/are 
in  i.  2.  9  above. 

14.  Or  look  upon.     Before  he  will  face.     For  0r=before,  cf.  Ham.  i.  2. 

"  Would  I  had  met  my  dearest  foe  in  heaven 
Or  ever  I  had  seen  that  day,  Horatio!" 

It  is  often  combined  with  ere,  as  in  iii.  2.  64  and  v.  3.  50  below.  See  Temp. 
p.  112,  note  on  Or  ere,  and  cf.  Gr.  131. 

1 6.  Statist.  Statesman.  Cf.  Ham.  v.  2.  33  :  "  as  our  statists  do  ;"  and 
see  our  ed.  p.  268. 

18.  Legions.     The  folios  have  "legion  ;"  corrected  by  Theo. 

21.  More  ordered.     Better  disciplined. 

24.  Courages.    For  the  plural,  see  on  i.  I.  I  above.    D.  reads  "courage." 
For  mingled  the  ist  folio  has  "wing-led  ;"  corrected  in  the  2d. 

25.  Their  approvers.     Those  who  make  trial  of  their  valour.     Cf.  ap- 
prove—try  ;  as  in  M.  N.  D.  ii.  2.  68,  W.  T.  iv.  2. 31,  etc.  The  noun  is  used 
by  S.  only  here. 

26.  That.     For  its  use  with  such,  see  on  i.  4.  46  above.     Cf.  44  below. 
28.  Winds  of  all  the  corners.      Cf.  Much  Ado,  ii.  3.  103  :    "  Sits  the 

wind  in  that  corner  ?" 

37.  Was  Cams,  etc.  The  folios  give  this  speech  to  "Post;;"  corrected 
by  Capell. 

39.  But  not  approached.  To  fill  out  the  line  Hanmer  reads  "  But  was 
not  yet  approach'd." 

49.  Must  not  continue  friends*     See  i.  4.  149  fol.  above. 

56.  Apparent.     Evident.     See  Rich.  II.  p.  150. 

58.  Is.  Changed  in  the  Coll.  MS.  to  "are  ;"  but  the  singular  verb  is 
often  found  with  two  singular  subjects  (Gr.  336).  Cf.  iii.  3.  99  and  v.  2.  2 
below. 

61.  My  circumstances.     That  is,  the  particulars  I  shall  give. 

68.  Watching.  Keeping  awake  for.  Gr.  394.  For  watching,  cf.  T.  of 
S.  iv.  i.  208:  "  She  shall  watch  all  night,"  etc.  See  also  the  noun  in  iiie 
4.  40  below. 

70.  When  she  met  her  Roman,  etc.     Cf.  A.  and  C.  ii.  2.  191  fol. 


!86  NOTES. 

Johnson  remarks :  "  lachimo's  language  is  such  as  a  skilful  villain 
would  naturally  use — a  mixture  of  airy  triumph  aud  serious  deposition. 
His  gayety  shows  his  seriousness  to  be  without  anxiety ;  and  his  seri- 
ousness proves  his  gayety  to  be  without  art." 

73.  Bravely.     See  on  ii.  2.  15  above. 

That  it  did  strive,  etc.  That  is,  it  was  doubtful  whether  the  workman- 
ship or  the  value  was  the  greater. 

76.  Since  the  true  life  on  V  was — .  This  is  the  folio  pointing,  and  re- 
moves all  difficulty  from  the  passage.  Capell  reads  "  Since  the  true  life 
was  in  it;"  and  the  Coll.  MS.  has  "on  't  't  was."  Other  attempts  at 
emendation  are  unworthy  of  notice. 

83.  So  likely  to  report  themselves.     That  is,  they  were  so  lifelike  that 
one  might  expect  them  to  speak. 

84.  Was  as  another  nature,  etc.     "The  sculptor  was  as  nature,  but  as 
nature  dumb ;  he  gave  every  thing  that  nature  gives  but  breath  and  mo- 
tion.    In  breath  is  included  speech  "  (Johnson). 

88.  Cherubins.     The  folio  reading,  changed  by  Rowe  to  "  cherubims." 
For  the  singular  cherubin,  see  Temp.  p.  115.     Fretted=  embossed.     See 
Ham.  p.  205. 

89.  Winking.     With  eyes  shut  or  blind.     See  on  ii.  3.  21  above. 

91.  Depending  on  their  brands.  Leaning  on  their  inverted  torches. 
Cf.  Sonn.i$$.  i  :  "  Cupid  laid  by  his  brand  and  fell  asleep  ;"  and  Id.  154. 
2  :  "  Laid  by  his  side  his  heart-inflaming  brand."  Some  have  taken 
brands  to  mean  the  part  of  the  andirons  on  which  the  wood  for  the  fire  is 
put. 

This  is  her  honour!  The  expression  is  ironical:  "And  the  attain- 
ment of  this  knowledge  is  to  pass  for  the  corruption  of  her  honour !" 
(Johnson). 

95.  Then,  if  you  can,  etc.     K.,  followed  by  V.,  points  the  passage  thus : 

"  Then,  if  you  can 
Be  pale,  I  beg  but  leave  to  air  this  jewel;" 

that  is,  seeing  that  he  has  produced  no  effect  upon  Posthumus  as  yet,  he 
now  says,  "  If  you  can  be  pale,  I  will  see  what  this  jewel  will  do  to  make 
you  change  countenance." 

97.  '7V.r  up.     That  is,  put  up. 

102.  Oiitsell.  The  verb  occurs  again  (the  only  other  instance  in  S.)  in 
Hi.  5.  74  below. 

107.  Basilisk.  The  fabulous  serpent  that  was  supposed  to  kill  by  its 
look.  Cf.  W.  T.  \.  2.  388  :  "  Make  me  not  sighted  like  the  basilisk."  See 
also  Hen.  V.  p.  183  (note  on  The  fatal  balls],  or  R.  and  J.  p.  1 86  (on 
Death-darting  eye}. 

III.  Bondage.     Binding  force,  fidelity. 

116.  One  of  her.     The  reading  of  2d  folio  ;  the  1st  omits  of. 

117.  Hath  stoFn.     Hanmer  reads  "Might  not  have  stoPn." 

127.  Cognizance.  "  The  badge,  the  token,  the  visible  proof"  (Johnson). 
Cf.  I  Hen.  VI.  ii.  4.  108 :  "  As  cognizance  of  my  blood-drinking  hate." 

146.  Limbmeal.  Limb  from  limb  ;  a  compound  like  dropmeal,  inch- 
meal  (see  Temp.  ii.  2.  3),  and  piecemeal^  which  is  still  in  use. 

150.  Pervert.     Avert,  turn  aside. 


ACT  III.     SCENE  L  jgy 

SCENE  V. — I.  Is  there  no  way,  etc.     Steevens  compares  Milton,  P.  L. 
x.  888  fol. 

8.  Nonpareil.     Paragon  ;  as  in  Temp.  iii.  2.  108,  T.  N.  i.  5.  273,  etc. 
II.  Pudency.     Modesty  ;  the  only  instance  of  the  word  in  S. 
14.  Motion.     Impulse.     Cf.  K.  John,  p.  137. 

19.  Change.     Caprice ;   as  in  Lear^  i.  i.  291,  etc.     Perhaps  change  of 
prides  =  variety  of  prides,  as  W.  explains  it.     Cf.  "  change  of  honours  "  in 
Cor.  ii.  i.  214,  and  see  our  ed.  p.  222. 

20.  Nice.     Squeamish,  affected.     Cf.  A.  Y.  L.  p.  185. 

21.  That  may  be  nam'd.     The  reading  of  the  2d  folio  ;   the   1st  has 
"  that  name."     D.  conjectures  "  that  have  a  name,"  and  Walker  "  that 
man  can  (or  "  may  ")  name." 

26.  Write  against  them.     "  Denounce   them,  protest   against   them " 
(Clarke). 


ACT   III. 

SCENE  I. — n.  There  be.  Cf.  Temp.  iii.  I.  I  :  "There  be  some  sports 
are  painful,"  etc.  Gr.  300. 

15.  From  'j-.     See  on  i.  1.4  above. 

18.  Bravery.     "  State  of  defiance  "  (Schmidt). 

19.  Paled  in.      Enclosed.      Cf.  A.  and  C.  ii.  7.  74:    "  Whate'er   the 
ocean  pales,  or  sky  inclips,"  etc. 

20.  Rocks.     The  folios  have  "  Oakes  "  or  "  Oaks  ;"  corrected  by  Han- 
mer. 

24.  Came  and  saw  and  overcame.  Cf.  2  Hen.  IV.  iv.  3.  45  :  "  I  may 
justly  say,  with  the  hook-nosed  fellow  of  Rome,  I  came,  saw,  and  over- 
came." 

27.  Ignorant.  "  Unacquainted  with  the  nature  of  our  boisterous  seas  " 
(Johnson). 

30.  At  point.     On  the  point,  about;  as  in  iii.  6.  17  below.     See  also 
Cor.  p.  240. 

31.  Giglot.    False,  fickle.    For  the  noun  (=  harlot),  see  M.for  M.  v.  i. 
352 :  "  Away  with  those  giglots,"  etc.     Cf.  K.  yohn>  iii.  I.  61  (and  Ham. 
ii.  2.  515):  "strumpet  fortune." 

As  Malone  remarks,  S.  has  here  transferred  to  Cassibelan  an  advent- 
ure which  happened  to  his  brother  Nennius.  "  The  same  history,"  says 
Holinshed,  "also  maketh  mention  of  Nennius,  brother  to  Cassibellane, 
who  in  fight  happened  to  get  Caesar's  sword  fastened  in  his  shield  by  a 
blow  which  Caesar  stroke  at  him."  Nennius  died  a  fortnight  after  the 
battle  of  the  hurt  he  had  received  at  Caesar's  hand,  and  was  buried  with 
great  pomp.  Caesar's  sword  was  placed  in  his  tomb. 

32.  Lud's  toivn.     London.     Cf.  iv.  2.  100,  124,  and  v.  5.  480  below. 

36.  Moe.     More  ;  used  only  with  a  plural  or  a  collective  noun.     See 
A.  Y.  L.  p.  176. 

37.  Owe.     Own  ;  as  often.     Gr.  290. 

46.  Injurious.  Often  used  as  a  personal  term  of  reproach = unjust,  in- 
solent, malicious,  etc.  Cf.  iv.  2.  87  below,  and  see  Cor.  p.  247. 


!88  NOTES. 

49.  Against  all  colour.  Contrary  to  all  show  of  right.  Cf.  I  Hen.  IV. 
iii.  2.  100 :  "  of  no  right,  nor  colour  like  to  right,"  etc. 

52.  We  do.  The  folios  make  this  a  part  of  Cymbeline's  speech  :  "  Our 
selues  to  be,  we  do.  Say  then  to  Ccesar"  etc.  The  reading  of  the  text 
is  that  of  the  Coll.  MS.,  and  is  adopted  by  D.  and  others.  It  is  very  like 
Cloten  to  break  in  thus ;  but  W.  prefers  to  follow  Malone  in  reading 
"  Ourselves  to  be.  We  do  say  then  to  Caesar,"  etc. 

55.  Franchise.     Free  exercise.      Whose  refers  of  course  to  laws. 

58.  The  first  of  Britain,  etc.  The  title  of  the  first  chapter  of  the  third 
book  of  Holinshed's  England  is,  "  Of  Mulmucius,  the  first  king  of  Britain 
who  was  crowned  with  a  golden  crown,  his  laws,  his  foundations,  etc." 

62.  Moe.  See  on  36  above.  The  form  was  going  out  of  use  in  the 
time  of  S.,  as  is  evident  from  the  frequent  substitution  of  more  in  the 
2d  folio,  printed  in  1632. 

70.  He  to  seek  of  me,  etc.     His  seeking  of  me,  etc.    Perforce— =by  force  ; 
as  in  A.  Y.  L.  i.  2.  21  (see  our  ed.  p.  141),  etc. 

71.  Keep  at  utterance.     Keep  at  the  extremity  of  defiance  (the  Fr.  a 
outrance],  or  defend  to  the  uttermost.     See  Macb.  p.  208,  note  on  Champion 
me  to  the  utterance. 

I  am  perfect.     I  am  assured,  I  know  well.     Cf.  W.  T.  iii.  3.  I : 

"Thou  art  perfect,  then,  our  ship  hath  touch'd  upon 

The  deserts  of  Bohemia?" 
See  also  iv.  2.  119  below. 

75.  Let  proof  speak.     Let -the  trial  show. 

84.  Remain.     For  the  noun,  cf.  Cor.  i.  4.  62  :  "make  remain  "  (r=stay). 

SCENE  II. — 2.  Monster' 's  her  accuser.  The  folios  have  "monsters  her 
accuse ;"  corrected  by  Capell.  Pope  reads  "  monsters  have  accus'd 
her." 

6.  Hearing.     Changed  by  Pope  to  "ear." 

9.  Take  in.    Subdue.    Cf.  Cor.  i.  2. 24:  "  To  take  in  many  towns  "  (see 
also  iii.  2.  59) ;  A.  and  C.  i.  1. 23  :  "  Take  in  that  kingdom  and  enfranchise 
that"  (see  also  iii.  7.  24  and  iii.  13.  83),  etc.     The  phrase  occurs  again  in 
iv.  2.  122  below. 

10.  Thy  mind  to  her,  etc.     "  Thy  mind,  compared  to  her  fine  nature,  is 
as  low  as  were  thy  fortunes  in  comparison  with  her  rank  "  (Clarke). 

21.  Fedary.  Accomplice,  confederate  ("foedary"  in  the  folios).  Cf, 
M.for  M.  ii.  4.  122:  "If  not  a  fedary,"  etc.  We  find  federary  in  the 
same  sense  in  W.-  T.  ii.  i.  90 :  "A  federary  with  her." 

23.  /  am  ignorant  in  what  I  am  commanded.  "  I  will  appear  not  to 
know  of  this  deed  which  I  am  commanded  to  perform"  (Clarke).  We 
have  no  doubt  that  this  is  the  meaning ;  but  Steevens  explains  it,  "  I  am 
unpractised  in  the  arts  of  murder." 

27.  Learn 'd.    The  usual  form  in  S.  is  learned  (dissyllabic),  as  now.    Cf. 
Cor.  p.  238. 

28.  Characters.     Handwriting.     Cf.  W.  T.  v.  2.  38 :  "  the  letters  of  An- 
tigonus,  which  they  know  to  be  his  character,"  etc. 

33.  Medicinable.  Spelt  "  medcinable "  in  the  first  three  folios,  indi- 
cating the  pronunciation.  See  Oth.  p.  210. 


ACT  III.     SCENE  II.  !gg 

34.  For  it  doth  physic  love.     "  That  is,  grief  for  absence  keeps  love  in 
health  and  vigour  "  (Johnson). 

35.  Good  wax,  thy  leave.     Cf.  T.  N.  ii.  5.  103  :  "  By  your  leave,  wax  ;" 
and  Lear,  iv.  6.  264 :   "  Leave,  gentle  wax." 

38.  Forfeiters.     That  is,  those  who  forfeit  the  bonds  to  which  they 
have  set  their  seal. 

As  V.  remarks,  the  allusion  shows  technical  familiarity  with  the  laws 
of  that  day.  The  seal  was  essential  to  the  bond,  though  a  signature  was 
not;  *to& forfciters  was  the  technical  term  for  those  who  had  broken  a 
contract  and  become  liable  to  the  legal  penalty. 

39.  Tables.     Tablets,  letters.     Cf.  T.  G.  of  V.  ii.  7.  3  : 

"  Who  art  the  table  wherein  all  my  thoughts 
Are  visibly  character'd  and  engrav'd ;" 

and  T.  and  C.  iv.  5.  60 : 

"  And  wide  unclasp  the  tables  of  their  thoughts 
To  every  ticklish  reader." 

41.  Could  not  be  so  cruel  to  me,  as  you  .  .  .  would  even  renew  me  with 
your  eyes.  If  this  is  what  S.  wrote,  the  meaning  seems  to  be  :  could  not 
be  so  cruel  to  me  but  that  the  sight  of  you  would  revive  me.  Pope 
changes  as  to  "  but,"  and  K.  to  "  an  ;"  and  Capell  reads  "  would  not 
even."  W.  has  "  could  not  be  cruel  to  me,  so  as  you,"  etc.  Clarke  may 
be  right  in  assuming  that  "  the  phraseology  is  purposely  obscure  and  enig- 
matical, and  conveys  a  double  idea" — the  one  given  above,  and  "a  sec- 
ondary one  (perceptible  to  the  reader  of  the  play),  .'could  not  be  so  cruel 
to  me  as  you '  (in  the  supposed  wrong  she  has'done  him  who  writes  to 
her)."  St.  also  thinks  that  the  passage  may  have  been  "intended  to  be 
enigmatical." 

47.  O,for  a  horse,  etc.  Mrs.  Jameson  remarks  :  "  In  the  eagerness  of 
Imogen  to  meet  her  husband  there  is  all  a  wife's  fondness,  mixed  up 
with  the  breathless  hurry  arising  from  a  sudden  and  joyful  surprise  ; 
but  nothing  of  the  picturesque  eloquence,  the  ardent,  exuberant,  Italian 
imagination  of  Juliet,  who,  to  gratify  her  impatience,  would  have  her  her- 
alds thoughts ;  press  into  her  service  the  nimble-pinioned  doves,  and 
wind-swift  Cupids ;  change  the  course  of  nature,  and  lash  the  steeds  of 
Phoebus  to  the  west.  Imogen  only  thinks  *  one  score  of  miles,  'twixt  sun 
and  sun,'  slow  travelling  for  a  lover,  and  wishes  for  a  horse  with  wings." 

49.  Mean  affairs.     Ordinary  business. 

53.  Bate.  Abate  (but  not  that  word  contracted),  qualify  what  I  say. 
Cf.  Temp.  i.  2.  250  :  "  bate  me  a  full  year,"  etc. 

55.  Beyond  beyond.  "  Further  than  beyond  ;  beyond  anything  that 
desire  can  be  said  to  be  beyond"  (Reed).  It  is  not  a  mere  repetition 
of  beyond,  as  pointed  in  the  folios  and  some  modern  eds. 

Speak  thick.  Speak  fast.  Cf.  2  Hen.  IV.  ii. .3.  24:  "And  speaking 
thick,  which  nature  made  his  blemish,"  etc.  See  our  ed.  p.  165. 

63.  And  our  return.  Changed  by  Pope  to  "Till  our  return,"  and  by 
Capell  to  "To  our  return."  Cf.  Cor.  ii.  I.  240: 

"  He  cannot  temperately  transport  his  honours 
From  where  he  should  begin  and  end;" 


I QO  NOTES. 

and  see  our  ed.  p.  225.  In  the  present  passage  the  irregular  construction 
is  in  keeping  with  the  rest  of  the  speech.  "  The  elliptical  style,  the  par- 
enthetical breaks,  the  fluttering  from  point  to  point  in  the  varied  clauses, 
all  serve  admirably  to  express  the  happy  hurry  of  spirits  and  joyous 
impatience  of  the  excited  speaker  "  (Clarke). 

64.  Or  ere.  Before.  See  on  ii.  4.  14  above.  The  meaning  is :  "  Why 
should  I  contrive  an  excuse  before  the  act  is  done  for  which  excuse  will 
be  necessary  ?"  (Malone). 

72.  That  run  f  the  clock's  behalf.  That  is,  the  sands  of  the  hour-glass, 
which  serve  instead  of  a  clock.  Warb.  calls  it  a  "  fantastical  expression." 
The  Coll.  MS.  has  "clocks  by  half/' 

76.  Franklin's.     A  franklin   is  literally  a  freeholder,  with  a  small  es- 
tate, neither  villain  nor  vassal"   (Johnson).     Cf.  W.  T.  v.  2.  173:  "Not 
swear  it,  now  I  am  a  gentleman  ?      Let  boors  and  franklins  say  it,  I  '11 
swear  it." 

You  \e  best  consider.  You  were  best  (it  were  best  for  you)  to  consider. 
Cf.  W.  T.v.  2.  143  :  "you  were  best  say  these  robes  are  not  gentlemen 
born,"  etc.  See  also  J.  C.  p.  166,  or  Gr.  230,  352  (cf.  190). 

77.  I  see  before  me,  etc.     I  see  the   course  that  lies  before  me;  no  oth- 
er, whether  here  or  there,  nor  what  may  follow,  but  is  doubtful  or  ob- 
scure.    Mason  would  explain  it  thus :  "  When   Imogen   speaks   these 
words  she  is  supposed  to  have  her  face    turned  towards   Milford,  and 
when  she  pronounces  the  words  nor  here,  nor  here,  she  points  to  the 
right  and  to  the  left.     This  being  premised,  the  sense  is  evidently  this  :  I 
see  clearly  the  way  before  me ;  but  that  to  the  right,  that  to  the  left,  and 
that   behind   me,  are  all   covered  with    a  fog  that  I  cannot  penetrate. 
There  is  no  more  therefore  to  be  said,  since  there  is  no  way  accessible 
but  that  to  Milford."     This  is  ingenious,  but  prosaic  withal ;  and  it  is 
hardly  possible  that  what  ensues   can    mean  "  that  behind  me,"  though 
Johnson  explained  it  in  the  sam~  way. 

SCENE  III.— i.  Keep  house.  Stay  in  the  house.  Elsewhere  we  find 
keep  the  house  (M.for  M.  iii.  2.  75),  keep  his  house  (T.  of  A.  iii.  3.  42),  etc. 
Cf.  the  use  of  housekeeper  (  =  one  who  stays  at  home)  in  Cor.  i.  3.  55  : 
"  You  are  manifest  housekeepers." 

2.  Whose.  For  the  relative  after  such,  see  on  i.  4. 46  above.  For  Stoop, 
the  folios  have  "  Sleepe"  or  «  Sleep  ;"  corrected  by  Hanmer. 

5.  Jet.     Strut,  stalk.     Cf.  T.  N.  ii.  5.  36  :  "  Contemplation  makes  a  rare 
turkey-cock  of  him  !  how  he  jets  under  his  advanced  plumes  !"     See  our 
ed.  p.  142. 

6.  Turbans.     As  Johnson  notes,  giants  in  the  time  of  S.  were  generally 
represented  as  Saracens.     The  word  is  "  Turbonds  "  or  "  Turbands  "  in 
the  folios,  and  Johnson  spells  it  "  turbants." 

10.  Yond.  Not  a  contraction  of  yonder,  as  often  printed.  See  Temp. 
p.  121. 

12.   Like  a  crow.     That  is,  "as  little  as  a  crow"  (i.  3.  15  above). 

16.  This  service,  etc.  "  In  war  it  is  not  sufficient  to  do  duty  well  ;  the 
advantage  rises  not  from  the  act,  but  the  acceptance  of  the  act "  (John- 
son). Pope  changed  This  to  "That." 


ACT  III.     SCENE  ///.  ! 9 r 

20.  The  sharded  beetle.    Cf.  Macb.  iii.  2. 42  :  "  The  shard-borne  beetle  ;" 
and  A.  and  C.  iii.  2.  20 :  "  They  are  his  shards,  and  he  their  beetle."    The 
reference  is  to  the  horny  wing-cases  of  the  insect. 

21.  Full-whig1  d.     "This  epithet  sufficiently  marks  the  contrast  of  the 
poet's  imagery ;  for  whilst  the  bird  can  soar  towards  the  sun  beyond  the 
reach  of  the  human  eye,  the  insect  can  but  just  rise  above  the  surface  of 
the  earth,  and  that  at  the  close  of  the  day"  (Henley). 

22.  Attending  for  a  check.     Doing  service  only  to  get  a  rebuke  for  it. 
Cf.  Oth.  iii.  3.67:  "To  incur  a  private  check,"  etc.     So  the  verb  — re- 
buke ;  as  in  J.  C.  iv.  3.  97  :  "  (Jheck'd  like  a  bondman,"  etc.    V.  explains 
it  :  "attending  his  prince  only  to  suffer  rejection  or  delay  of  his  suit." 

23.  Doing  nothing  for  a  bribe.     The  folios  have  "for  a  Babe."     Bribe 
is  Hanmer's  emendation,  and  is  adopted  by  K.,  D.,  V.,  W.,  Clarke,  and 
others.     Rowe  gave  "  bauble,"  which  the  Camb.  editors  prefer.    Sr.  reads 
"brabe,"  a  conjecture  of  Johnson's,  and  — reward  (Latin,  brabium}.    The 
Coll.  MS.  has  "  bob"  (a  rap,  or  blow),  for  which  see  A.  Y.  L.  p.  164.    Chal- 
mers suggests  "baubee."     V.  defends  bribe  thus  :  "  It  corresponds  better 
than  any  other  word  with  the  preceding  word  richer ;  and  the  mistake 
might  easily  have  been  made  even  in  copying  or  printing  from  clearer 
manuscript  than  most  authors  make.     The  sense  is  good :  *  Such  a  life 
of  activity  is  richer  than  that  of  the  bribed  courtier,  even  though  he  pock- 
et his  bribe  without  rendering  any  return.'     Such  a  thought  is  natural  in 
Belarius,  who  had  seen  the  vices  of  the  great,  and  was  perfectly  intelligi- 
ble to  Shakespeare's  audience,  who  lived  in  those  'good  old  times'  when 
the  greatest,  and  sometimes  the  wisest,  were  not  only  accessible  to  bribes, 
but  expected  them  ;  while  every  concern  of  life  was  dependent  upon  the 
caprice  or  the* favour  of  those  in  power.     A  note  in  Knight's  edition  de- 
duces the  whole  passage  from  some  well-known  lines  of  Spenser,  in  his 
Mother  Hubberds   Tale,  much  resembling   this  train   of  thought.     Our 
Poet  had  seen  enough  of  this  sort  of  life  not  to  be  obliged  to  describe  it 
at  second-hand ;  yet  he  may  have  had  Spenser's  verses  in  his  mind,  and 
they  certainly  throw  light  on  his  meaning  and  corroborate  the  proposed 
correction  of  the  text.    The  '  doing  nothing  for  a  bribe '  corresponds  with 
Spenser's  satirical  glance  at  court  life  : 

'Or  otherwise  false  Reynold  would  abuse 
The  simple  suter,  and  wish  him  to  chuse 
His  Master,  being  one  of  great  regard 
In  Court,  to  cqmpas  anie  sute  not  hard. 
In  case  his  paines  were  recompenst  with  reason^ 
So  would  he  worke  the  silly  man  by  treason 
To  buy  his  Master's  frivolous  good  will, 
That  h<id  not  power  to  doo  him  good  or  ill ' ?> 

The  passage  in  Spenser  referred  to  by  K.  is  the  following : 

"  Full  little  knowest  thou.  that  hast  not  tride, 
What  hell  it  is  in  suing  long  to  bide : 
To  loose  good  dayes  that  might  be  better  spent ; 
To  wast  long  nights  in  pensive  discontent ; 
To  speed  to  day,  to  be  put  back  to  morrow ; 
To  feed  on  hope,  to  pine  with  feare  and  sorrow ; 


I92  NOTES. 

To  have  thy  Princes  grace,  yet  want  her  Peeres ; 
To  have  thy  asking,  yet  waite  manie  yeeres  ; 
To  fret  thy  soule  with  crosses  and  with  cares ; 
To  eate  thy  heart  through  comfortlesse  despaires ; 
To  fawne,  to  crowche,  to  waite,  to  ride,  to  ronne, 
To  spend,  to  give,  to  want,  to  be  undonne. 
Unhappie  wight,  borne  to  desastrous  end, 
That  doth  his  life  in  so  long  tendance  spend!" 

24.  Prouder  than  rustling  in  unpaid-for  silk.     K.   remarks :  "  As  we 
have  had  the  nobler  and  richer  life,  we  have  now  the  prouder.    The  moun- 
tain life  is  compared  with  that  of  rustling  in  unpaid-for  silk.     The  illus- 
trative lines  which  are  added  mean  that  such  a  one  as  does  rustle  in  un- 
paid-for silk  receives  the  courtesy  (gains  the  cap]  of  him  that  makes  him 
tine,  yet  he.  the  wearer  of  silk,  keeps  his,  the  creditor's,  book  uncrossed. 
To  cross  the  book  is,  even  now,  a  common  expression  for  obliterating  the 
entry  of  a  debt.     It  belongs  to  the  rude  age  of  credit." 

25.  Cap.     Cf.  Cor.  ii.  i.  77  :  "  You  are  ambitious  for  poor  knaves'  caps 
and  legs"  (that  is,  for  their   obeisance)  ;    i  Hen.  IV.  iv.  3.  168 :  "The 
more  and  less  came  in  with  cap  and  knee,"  etc. 

The  folios  have  "makes  him;"  corrected  by  Capell.  K.  retains 
"makes  him,"  changing  gain  to  "gains."  Him  refers  of  course  to  the 
merchant  who  has  sold  the  silk  which  makes  them  fine.  Cf.  T.  of  S.  ii.  I. 
319  :  "my  Katherine  shall  be  fine  ;"  and  Id.  iv.  i.  139 : 

"There  were  none  fine  but  Adam,  Ralph,  and  Gregory; 
The  rest  were  ragged,  old,  and  beggarly." 

26.  No  life  to  ours.     That  is,  that  can  be  compared  with  ours.     For  to 
in  this  sense,  see  Gr.  187. 

27.  Proof.     Experience  ;  as  in  i.  6.  69  above. 

29.  What  air  V  from  home.  What  the  air  is  away  from  home.  For 
from,  see  on  i.  4.  14  above. 

34.  Prison  for.     The  folios  have  "  prison,  or  ;"  corrected  by  Pope. 

35.  To  stride  a  limit.     "  To  overpass  his  bound"  (Johnson). 

What  should  we  speak  of,  etc.  Johnson  remarks  :  "  This  dread  of  an 
old  age  unsnpplied  with  matter  for  discourse  and  meditation  is  a  senti- 
ment natural  and  noble.  No  state  can  be  more  destitute  than  that  of 
him  who,  when  the  delights  of  sense  forsake  him,  has  no  pleasures  of  the 
mind." 

40.  Beastly.     Like  mere  beasts. 

41.  Like  warlike.     Cf.  Temp.  iii.  3.  66  :  "like  invulnerable,    etc. 
58.  Note.     See  on  i.  4.  2  above. 

63.  Hangings.     That  is,  the  fruit  hanging  on  the  tree. 

73.  Fore-end.     Earlier  part ;  used  by  S.  only  here. 

83.  /'  the  cave  wherein  they  bow.     That  is,  which  is  so  low  that  they 
must  bow  or  stoop  in  entering  it.     Cf.  2  above.     The  folios  have  " 
Caue,  whereon  the  Bowe"  (or  "Bow")  ;  corrected  by  Warb. 

85.  Prince  it.     Play  the  prince,  bear  themselves  like  princes.     Gr.  226. 

87.  Who.  Changed  to  "whom"  in  the  2d  folio.  See  on  i.  6.  153 
above. 

go.  Spirits.     Monosyllabic  (-sprite]  ;  as  often.     Gr.  463. 

99.  Knows.     Changed  by  Pope  to  "  know  ;"  but  see  on  ii.  4.  58  above. 


ACT  III.     SCENE  IV. 


193 


100.    Whereon.     We  should  now  use  whereupon. 

103.  Reffst.  The  folios  have  "refts."  For  similar  euphonic  forms, 
see  Gr.  340. 

105.  Her  grave.  Changed  by  Hanmer  to  "  thy  grave  ;"  but  see  on  i. 
6.  131  above.  Malone  compares  Acts,  xvii.  2, 3. 

SCENE  IV. — i.  When  we  came  from  horse.  "Serving  to  show  that 
they  have  performed  the  previous  portion  of  their  long  journey  by  riding, 
and  have  now  alighted  on  account  of  the  more  rugged  and  mountainous 
district  through  which  their  way  lies"  (Clarke). 

3.  Have  now.     That  is,  have  now  longed. 

6.  Inward.  For  the  noun,  cf.  Sonn.  128.  6:  "To  kiss  the  tender  in- 
ward of  thy  hand."  So  outward  in  i.  I.  23  above. 

9.  Haviour.  As  Steevens  notes,  this  should  not  be  printed  as  a  con- 
traction of  behaviour.  Cf.  JR.  and  J.  p.  1 66. 

11.  Tender" si  .  .  .  untender.     This  kind  of  jingle  or  play  upon  words 
of  the  same  or  similar  sound  is  common  in  S.     See  Dr.  Ingleby's  Shake- 
speare Hermeneutics,  p.  26  fol.     Pope  changed  tender" st  to  "  offer'st." 

12.  Summer  news.     Cf.  Sonn.  98. 4: 

"  Yet  nor  the  lays  of  birds,  nor  the  sweet  smell 
Of  different  flowers  in  odour  and  in  hue, 
Could  make  me  any  summer's  story  tell." 

15.  Dnig-damifd.  Alluding  to  the  notoriousness  of  Italian  poisoning 
(Johnson).  Cf.  iii.  2.  5  above. 

Out-craftied.  The  folio  form;  changed  by  some  to  "out-crafted."  S. 
uses  the  word  only  here. 

17.  Take  off  some  extremity.  That  is,  may  break  the  bad  news  more 
gently  than  the  letter. 

22.  Lie  bleeding  in  me.  That  is,  "  my  heart  bleeds  inwardly  "  (2  Hen. 
IV.  ii.  2.  51)  on  account  of  them. 

25.  With.     By.     Gr.  193. 

32.  What  shall  I  need,  etc.  Why  need  I,  etc.  This  use  of  what 
(=why)  is  especially  common  with  need.  Cf.  C.  of  E.  iii.  2.  15,  Hen. 
VIII.\\.  4. 128,  J.  C.  ii.  i.  123,  etc.  Gr.  253. 

34.  Worms.     Serpents.     Cf.  A.  and  C.  v.  3.  243,  256,  261,  268,  282,  etc. 
See  also  Macb.  p.  215. 

Nile.  Like  Nihts,  always  without  the  article  in  S.  except  in  A.  and  C. 
ii.  7.  20.  Cf.  Tiber  in  Cor.  iii.  i.  262,  J.  C.  i.  I.  50,  63,  i.  2.  114,  iii.  2,254, 
etc. 

35.  Posting  winds.    Cf.  2  Hen.  IV.  ind.  4  :  "  making  the  wind  my  post- 
horse." 

36.  States.    Explained  by  Johnson  and  Steevens  as  —  "  persons  of  high- 
est rank."     Cf.  K.  John,  ii.  i.  395,  etc. 

39.  False  to  his  bed!  Mrs.  Jameson  remarks  here:  "In  her  first  ex- 
clamations we  trace,  besides  astonishment  and  anguish,  and  the  acute 
sense  of  the  injustice  inflicted  on  her,  a  flash  of  indignant  spirit,  which 
we  do  not  find  in  Desdemona  or  Hermione.  This  is  followed  by  that 
affecting  lamentation  over  the  falsehood  and  injustice  of  her  husband, 

N 


I94  NOTES. 

in  which  she  betrays  no  atom  of  jealousy  or  wounded,  self-love,  but  ob- 
serves in  the  extremity  of  her  anguish,  that  after  his  lapse  from  truth, 
'all  good  seeming  would  be  discredited,'  and  she  then  resigns  herself  to 
his  will  with  the  most  entire  submission." 

40.  In  watch.    Awake.     Cf.  Ham.  ii.  2. 148 :  "  Thence  to  a  watch,"  etc. 
See  our  ed.  p.  204.     Cf.  also  the  verb  in  11.4.  68  above. 

41.  If  sleep  charge  nature,  etc.     "And  if  sleep  take  hold  of  nature, 
then  to  break,"  etc.  (J.  H.). 

42.  Fearful.     Full  of  fear,  anxious.     Cf.  Rich.  II.  p.  190. 

43.  Favour  's.     See  on  i.  6.  41  above. 

Jay.  Used  as  a  term  of  reproach  (  —  harlot) ;  as  in  M.  W.  iii.  3.  44 : 
"we  '11  teach  him  to  know  turtles  from  jays."  Warb.  notes  that  the 
Italian /Z///0  (=jay)  is  used  in  the  same  figurative  sense. 

49.  Whose  mother  was  her  painting.  Who  owed  her  beauty  to  her 
painted  face  ;  a  figure  not  unlike  that  in  iv.  2.  82  below: 

"  No,  nor  thy  tailor,  rascal, 

Who  is  thy  grandfather;  he  made  those  clothes, 
Which,  as  it  seems,  make  thee." 

Cf.  Lear,  ii. 2.  60  :  "a  tailor  made  thee."  Theo.  conjectured  " planting " 
for  painting,  and  Hanmer  changed  mother  to  "  feathers  "  (Capell,  "feath- 
er"). Coll.  adopts  the  reading  of  the  Coll.  MS.  :  "  Who  smothers  her 
with  painting."  The  Camb.  editors  remark  :  "  If  the  text  be  right,  the 
meaning  probably  is,  whose  mother  aided  and  abetted  her  daughter  in 
her  trade  of  seduction."  K.  suggests  "  muffler  "  for  mother. 

51.  For  I  am  richer,  etc.  Because  (Gr.  151)  I  am  too  valuable  to  be 
hung  up  like  an  old-fashioned  garment.  Malone  saw  an  allusion  to 
tapestry  hangings  which  "  being  sometimes  wrought  with  gold  and  sil- 
ver, were,  it  should  seem,  occasionally  ripped  and  taken  to  pieces  for 
the  sake  of  the  materials;"  but  the  preceding  line  shows  plainly  enough 
that  the  reference  is  to  ripping  up  an  old  garment.  The  play  on  ripp'd 
is  obvious.  Cf.  iii.  5.  86  below. 

58.  Sinotfs  weeping.  It  was  Sinon  who  persuaded  the  Trojans  to  ad- 
mit the  wooden  horse  into  their  city.  On  iveeping,  cf.  Virgil,  sEn.  ii.  195  : 

*c  Talibus  insidiis  perjurique  arte  Sinonis 
Credita  res,  captique  dolis  lacrimisque  coactis, 
Quos  neque  Tydides,  nee  Larissaeus  Achilles, 
Non  anni  domuere  decem,  non  mille  carinae." 

For  other  allusions  to  Sinon,  see  R.  of  L.  1521,  1529,  3  Hen.  VI.  iii.  2. 
190,  and  T.  A.  v.  3.  85. 

61.  Wilt  lay  the  leaven  on  all  proper  men.  That  is,  "wilt  infect  and 
corrupt  their  good  name  (like  sour  dough  that  leaveneth  the  whole 
mass),  and  wilt  render  them  suspected  "  (Upton).  Cf.  Hen.  V.  ii.  2.  126  : 

"  O.  how  hast  thou  with  jealousy  infected 
The  sweetness  of  affiance !  .  .  . 

And  thus  thy  fall  hath  left  a  kind  of  blot 
To  mark  the  full-fraught  man  and  best  indued 
With  some  suspicion.'* 


ACT  III.     SCENE  IV.  !95 

Proper  is  explained  by  the  goodly  and  gallant  in  the  next  line.  Cf. 
M.  of  V.  p.  132,  note  on  A  proper  man 's  picture. 

63.  Fail.  Upton  conjectured  "fall ;"  but  S.  has  fail  several  times  as 
a  noun.  Cf.  W.  T.  ii.  3.  170,  v.  1. 107,  Hen.  VIII.  i.  2.  145,  ii.  4.  198,  etc. 

65.  A  little  witness,  etc.     Bear  some  little  testimony  to,  etc. 

76.  There  is  a  prohibition  so  divine,  etc.     Cf.  Ham.  \.  2.  132  : 

"  Or  that  the  Everlasting  had  not  fix'd 
His  canon  'gainst  self-slaughter." 

See  our  ed.  p.  182.     S.  uses  self -slaughter  only  in  these  two  passages. 

For  the  relative  after  so,  see  Gr.  279. 

78.  Afore  't.  The  folios  have  "  a-foot ;"  corrected  by  Rowe.  The 
Coll.  MS.  has  "  in  front." 

80.  Scriptures.  Imogen  uses  the  word  for  the  antithesis  to  heresy. 
Rowe  inserts  here  the  stage-direction,  "  Pulling  his  letter  [Pope,  "let- 
ters "]  out  of  her  bosom." 

87.  Set  up.  Instigate.  Set  on  is  more  common  in  this  sense.  Cf.  i.  5. 
73  above. 

90.  Princely  fellows.     Those  who  were  fellows  or  equals  with  myself 
in  princely  rank.     The  Coll.  MS.  has  "  followers." 

91.  Common  passage.    Common  occurrence.    Cf.  A.  W.\.\.2Q\  "how 
sad  a  passage  't  is  !" 

93.  Disedg^d.     Surfeited  (having  the  edge  of  one's  appetite  taken  off). 
Cf.  Temp.  iv.  I.  28  and  Ham.  iii.  2.  260. 

94.  7Wst  on.     To  tire  was  to  feed  on  ravenously,  like  a  bird  of  prey. 
Cf.  V.  and  A.  56  : 

"  Even  as  an  empty  eagle,  sharp  by  fast, 
Tires  with  her  beak  on  feathers,  flesh,  and  bone, 
Shaking  her  wings,  devouring  all  in  haste, 
Till  either  gorge  be  stuff' d  or  prey  be  gone;" 


"  like  an  empty  eaj 
and  of  i 


and  3  Hen.  VI.  i.  i.  269  : 

Tire  on  the  flesh  of  me  and  of  my  son.' 
95.  Pangd.     Cf.  Hen.  VIII.  ii.  3.  15  : 

"  't  is  a  sufferance  panging 
As  soul  and  body's  severing." 

101.  7  '//  wake  mine  eye-balls  blind  first.  The  folios  read  "  He  wake 
mine  eye-balles  first."  Hanmer  inserted  blind.  Johnson  conjectured 
"  out  first."  The  Coll.  MS.  has  "  crack  mine  eye-balls  first." 

105.  The  perturb" d  court,  etc.  That  is,  the  court  perturbed  ori  account 
of  my  absence.  See  on  ii.  3.  94  above. 

108.  To  be  unbent.     To  have  thy  bow  unbent.     Stand  is  used  in  the 
same  technical  sense  as  in  ii.  3.  68  above. 

109.  The  elected  deer.     The  chosen  deer.     Cf.  P.  P.  300  : 

"  When  as  thine  eye  hath  chose  the  dame 
And  stall'd  the  deer  that  thou  shouldst  strike,"  etc. 

ill.  Considered  of.  Cf.  Hen.  V.  ii.  4.  113,  iii.  6.  133,  y.  C.  iii.  2.  114, 
Macb.  iii.  I.  75,  etc. 


I96  NOTES. 

115.  Ttnt.  Probe;  as  in  Ham.  ii.  2.  626:  "I  '11  tent  him  to  the 
quick,"  etc.  See  also  the  noun  in  T.  and  C.  ii.  2.  16 : 

"  the  tent  that  searches 
To  the  bottom  of  the  worst." 

120.  Abused.     Deceived,  deluded.     See  on  i.  6.  130  above. 

125.  For  V  is  commanded,  etc.     Some  of  the  critics  say  that  this  is  not 
in  the  letter ;  but  it  is  implied  in  the  injunction,  "to  make  me  certain  it 
is  done,"  which  Pisanio  is  left  to  interpret  in  his  own  way. 

126.  Shall.     Will.     Cf.  Gr.3i5. 

132.  With  that  harsh,  noble,  etc.  This  line  is  evidently  defective,  though 
the  sense  is  clear.  The  Coll.  MS.  inserts  "empty"  after  simple.  Theo. 
has  "  simple  nothing,  Cloten."  Nicholson  conjectures  "  ignoble  "  for 
noble. 

136.  Hath  Britain,  etc.  K.  remarks :  "It  seems  probable  that  here, 
as  also  on  a  similar  occasion  in  Rich.  II.  [see  i.  4.  275  fol.],  S.  had  in  his 
thoughts  a  passage  in  Lyly's  Euphues :  *  Nature  hath  given  to  no  man 
a  country,  no  more  than  she  hath  house,  or  lands,  or  living.  Plato  would 
never  account  him  banished  that  had  the  sun,  air,  water,  and  earth,  that 
he  had  before :  where  he  felt  the  winter's  blast,  and  the  summer's  blaze  ; 
where  the  same  sun  and  the  same  moon  shined :  whereby  he  noted  that 
every  place  was  a  country  to  a  wise  man,  and  all  parts  a  palace  to  a 
quiet  mind.'  " 

140.  There  'j.  Cf.  iv.  2. 372  below:  " There  is  no  more  such  masters," 
etc.  See  also  iv.  2.  284,  v.  5.  233,  etc.  Gr.  335. 

144.  Dark  as  your  fortune  is.     As  impenetrable  to   others,  as  your 
fortune  is  doubtful  or  obscure. 

145.  That  which,  etc.     Her  personal  identity  as  woman  and  princess 
(Clarke). 

147.  Pretty,  and  full  of  view.  Fair  and  full  of  promise.  Pretty  has 
been  suspected,  and  the  Coll.  MS.  substitutes  "  Privy ;"  hut  the  emenda- 
tion, though  specious,  has  met  with  little  favour  among  the  editors.  Full 
of  view  may  mean  "  affording  an  ample  prospect,  a  complete  opportunity 
of  discerning  circumstances  which  it  is  your  interest  to  know"  (Steevens) ; 
or  that  meaning,  as  Clarke  suggests,  may  be  combined  with  the  one 
given  above.  A  Yankee  might  say  "  with  a  good  look-out "  in  the  same 
double  sense. 

152.  Though.    Rann  reads  "  Through"  (the  conjecture  of  Johnson  and 
Heath),  but  the  ellipsis  is  not  unlike  many  others  in  S. 

153.  Adventure.     Venture,  run  the  risk.     See  on  i.  6.  171  above. 

155.  Niceness.  Coyness;  the  only  instance  of  the  word  in  S.  Cf.  the 
adjective  in  T.  G.  of  V.  iii.  i.  82,  A.  W.v.  I.  15,  Hen.  V.  v.  2.  293,  299,  etc. 

157.  It  pretty  self.  For  this  old  possessive  it,  cf.  W.  T.  iii.  2. 101  :  "in 
it  most  innocent  mouth  ;"  and  see  our  ed.  p.  155.  Gr.  228. 

159.  Quarrellous.  The  word  is  used  by  S.  only  here,  and  quarrelsome 
only  in  A.  Y.  L.  v.  4.  85,  99,  and  T.  of  S.  i.  2.  13.  For  the  simile,  ct. 
I  Hen.  IV.  ii.  3.  81  : 

"  A  weasel  hath  not  such  a  deal  of  spleen 
As  you  are  toss'd  with." 


ACT  HI.    SCENE    V.  !97 

Steevens  says  that  "  this  character  of  the  Weasel  is  not  warranted  by 
naturalists."  The  animal  was  formerly  kept  in  houses  instead  of  a  cat 
for  ihe  purpose  of  killing  rats  and  mice. 

161.  The  harder  heart!  "  This  too  hard  heart  of  mine  !"  (J.  H.).  Cf. 
the  use  of  the  comparative  in  Latin.  Johnson  makes  it  refer  to  Posthu- 
nms. 

163.  Common-kissing  Titan.     The  sun  that  kisses  any  body  and  any 
thing.     Cf.  I  Hen.  IV.  ii.  4.  133  :    "  Didst  thou  never  see  Titan  kiss  a 
dish  of  butter?"     Steevens  cites  Oth.  iv.  2.  78:  "The  bawdy  wind  that 
kisses  all  it  meets." 

164.  Laboursome.     Elaborate.     Cf.  Ham.  i.  2.  59  :    "  laboursome  peti- 
tion."    Trims  (^apparel)  is  the  only  instance  of  the  plural  in  S. 

168.  Fore -thinking.  Anticipating;  as  in  I  Hen.  IV.  iii.  2.  38 :  "Pro- 
phetically do  fore-think  thy  fall." 

170.  In  their  serving.     With  the  help  they  may  give  you. 
174.  Happy.     Fortunate,  gifted.     Cf.  T.  G.  of  K  iv.  I.  34 : 

"  2  Outlaw.   Have  you  the  tongues  ? 
Valentine.  My  youthful  travel  therein  made  me  happy." 

You  Y/  make  him  know.  The  folios  have  "  will  make  him  know." 
Theo.  reads  "  will  make  him  so."  The  reading  in  the  text  is  Hanmer's. 
St.  conjectures  "  will  make  him  bow." 

177-   Your  means  abroad.     For  your  means,  as  to  your  means. 

179.  Supplement.    "  Continuance  of  supply  "  (D.) ;  used  by  S.  only  here. 

lot.  We  '//  even,  etc.  "  We  '11  make  our  work  even  with  our  time; 
we  '11  do  what  time  will  allow  "  (Johnson) ;  or  "  we  '11  profit  by  any  ad- 
vantage offered  "  (Schmidt).  Cf.  A.  W.  \.  3.  3  :  "  to  even  your  content ;" 
and  see  our  ed.  p.  140. 

183.  lam  soldier  to.  "  I  have  enlisted  and  bound  myself  to  it "  (Warb.), 
or  "  I  am  firmly  and  constantly  devoted  to  it "  (Schmidt).  Steevens 
thinks  it  is  simply  =  " I  am  up  to  it,  I  have  ability  for  it;"  and  that  ex- 
planation is  perhaps  to  be  preferred. 

187.   Your  carriage.     Carrying  you  off. 

190.  At  land.  This  might  seem  suggested  l>y  the  preceding  at  sea, 
but  we  find  it  in  other  connections ;  as  in  A.  and  C.  iii.  7.  54,  iv.  5.  3,  etc. 
Cf.  Or.  143,  144. 

SCENE  V. — 3.  And  am.  For  the  ellipsis  of  the  subject,  see  Gr.  400, 
401.  For  ye,  see  Gr.  236. 

7.  So,  sir.     For  the  "  acquiescent"  use  of  so,  cf.  iii.  I.  82  above.    The 
pointing  is  that  of  the  folios.      Some  follow  Capell  in  connecting  the 
words  with  what  follows  :  "  So,  sir,  I  desire,"  etc. 

8.  Conduct.     Safe-conduct,  escort. 

9.  And  you!    The  folios  join  this  to  the  preceding  speech.     We  fol- 
low the  Camb.  editors  (Globe  ed.)  in  giving  it  to  the  Queen.    Rann  reads 
"  his  grace  and  you." 

14.  The  event.  The  issue  ;  as  in  T.  of  S.  iii.  2.  129  :  "  I  '11  after  him, 
and  see  the  event  of  this,"  etc. 

21.  Wrote.     Cf.  2  above.     The  common  form  in  S.  is  writ  or  written. 
•     22.  Fits.     Befits,  becomes  ;  as  in  v.  5.  98  below. 


198  NOTES. 

Ripely.  Promptly  (the  time  being  ripe  for  it)  ;  the  one  instance  of  the 
adverb  in  S. 

25.  Drawn  to  head.  Gathered  in  arms.  Cf.  X.  John,  v.  2.  113  :  "  Be- 
fore I  drew  this  gallant  head  of  war  ;"  and  see  our  ed.  p.  174. 

32.  Looks  its  like.  Seems  to  us  like.  The  us  is  the  dative,  as  in  "  do 
us  the  favour,"  etc.  Cf.  Gr.  220.  The  ist  folio  reads  "looke  vs  like," 
which  the  2d  changes  to  "lookes  as  like." 

35.  Slight  in  sufferance.     The  2d  folio  changes  slight  to  "  light."     The 
meaning  is,  We  have  been  too  easy  or  careless  in  allowing  it. 

36.  Exile.     Accented  by  S.  on  either  syllable,  according  to  the  meas- 
ure.    Cf.  ii.  3.  39  above  and  iv.  4.  26  below.     See  also  A.  Y.  L.  p.  149. 

40.    Tender  of.     Sensitive  to. 

44.  Loud' st.  See  on  i.  I.  96  above.  The  folios  read  "  lowd  (or  "loud  ") 
of  noise;"  corrected  by  Capell.  Rowe  gives  "loudest  noise,"  and  the 
Coll.  MS.  "loud'st  noise." 

50.  Our  great  court,  etc.  Our  important  court  business  (with  the  Ro- 
man ambassador)  made  me  forget  it. 

56.  Stand 'st  so  for.  Dost  stand  up  so  for,  as  we  say  ;  art  so  earnest  a 
partisan  of.  Cf.  M.  W.  in.  2.  62  :  "  I  stand  wholly  for  you,"  etc. 

69.  Forestall  him  of.     That  is,  prevent  his  living  to  see. 

71.  And  that.     And/^r  that,  and  because.     Gr.  151,  285. 

72.  Than  lady,  ladies,  woman.     An  elliptical  climax="than  any  lady, 
than  all  ladies,  than  all  womankind  "  (Johnson).     Hanmer  reads  "  Than 
any  lady,  winning  from  each  one  ;"  and  Warb.  "  Than  lady  ladies  ;  win- 
ning from  each  one." 

74.  Outsells.  Outvalues ;  as  in  ii.  4.  102  above.  Coll.  conjectures 
"  Excels." 

80.  Are  you  packing?  Explained  by  some,  and  perhaps  rightly,  as  = 
are  you  plotting?  Cf.  T.  of  S.  v.  i.  121  :  "Here's  packing,  with  a  wit- 
ness, to  deceive  us  all,"  etc.  It  may,  however,  mean  (as  Schmidt  and 
others  make  it),  Are  you  running  off?  Cf.  I  Hen.  VI.  iv.  i.  46,  Ham. 
iii.  4.  211,  etc. 

83.  Good  my  lord.     See  Gr.  13. 

85.  Close.     Sly,  secret.     Cf.  Macb.  iii.  5.  7  :  "  The  close  contriver  of  all 
harms,"  etc. 

86.  Rip  Thy  heart.   Cf.  Lear,  iv.  6.  265  :  "  To  know  our  enemies'  minds, 
we  'd  rip  their  hearts." 

92.  Home.  Thoroughly,  fully.  Cf.  Temp.  v.  i.  71  :  "I  will  pay  thy 
graces  home."  See  also  Ham.  p.  232,  note  on  Tax  him  home. 

99.  This  paper.  The  "  feigned  letter  "  of  v.  5.  279  below.  It  seems  to 
have  been  prepared  by  Pisanio  to  account  for  Imogen's  absence  in  case 
he  should  be  charged  with  aiding  and  abetting  her  flight. 

101.  Or  this,  or  perish.  I  must  resort  to  this  trick,  or  fall  a  victim  to 
his  fury.  Johnson  conjectured  that  the  words  belong  to  Cloten. 

log.  Undergo.  Undertake.  Cf.  i.  4. 153  above.  See  also  W.  T.  p.  202. 
.  137.  Insultment.  The  only  instance  of  the  word  in  S. 

140.  Knock.     Changed  by  Hanmer  to  "  kick." 
.153.  My  loss.     The  Coll.  MS.  has  "  thy  loss." 

155.  Most  true.     "  It  is  characteristic  of  the  faithful-hearted  Pisanio  that 


ACT  II L     SCENE   VI. 


199 


he  never  swerves  from  his  conviction  that  Posthumus  is  good  and  true, 
notwithstanding  the  cruel  letter  commanding  Imogen's  destruction.  He 
believes  what  he  has  told  her;  that  Posthumus  has  been  deceived  by 
'  some  villain,'  who  has  worked  this  'injury '  to  both  "  (Clarke).  Hanmer 
changed  him  to  "  her." 

SCENE  VI. — 6.  Within  a  ken.  Within  sight,  as  in  2  Hen.  IV.  iv.  i. 
151  :  "within  a  ken  our  army  lies." 

7.  Foundations.  "  Quibbling  between  fixed  places  and  charitable  estab- 
lishments "  (Schmidt). 

13.  Sorer.     "  A  greater  or  heavier  crime  "  (Johnson). 

16.  Even  before.     Just  before  ;  as  in  K.  John,  iii.  I.  233  :  "And  even 
before  this  truce,  but  new  before,"  etc. 

17.  At  point.     See   on  iii.  I.  30  above.     For  food— fa*  want  of  food. 
Cf.  A.  Y.L.  ii.  7.  104:  "  I  almost  die  for  food."     See  our  ed.  p.  159,  note 
on  Faints  for  succour. 

19.  I  were  best.     See  on  iii.  2.  76  above. 

20.  Clean.     Quite,  entirely.     See  Rich.  II.  p.  188. 

21.  Breeds.     Changed  by  Hanmer  to  "breed;"  but  see  on  ii.  4.  58 
above. 

Hardness  =•  hardship ;  as  in  Oth.  i.  3.  234: 

"A  natural  and  a  prompt  alacrity 
I  find  in  hardness,"  etc. 

22.  Hardiness.    Bravery;  as  in  Hen.  V.  i.  2. 220 :  "hardiness  and  policy." 
For  the  jingle,  cf.  iii.  4.  1 1  above. 

23.  Civil.     Civilized ;    as  the  antithesis  of  savage  shows.      Cf.  Oth. 
p.  196. 

24.  Take  or  lend.     Take  pay  for  food,  or  lend  it ;  as  Malone  explains 
it,  referring  to  47  below.     Johnson  wanted  to  transpose  civil  and  savage  ; 
and  Schmidt  conjectures  "  take  or  leave  "  (that  is,  "  destroy  me  or  let  me 
live"). 

25.  Best  draw  my  sword.     Steevens  quotes  Milton,  Comus,  487  :  "  Best 
draw  and  stand  upon  our  guard." 

27.  Such  a  foe,  good  heavens  !     "  Exquisitely  feminine  throughout  is  this 
speech.     Its  confession  of  limb- weary  fatigue,  of  faintness  from  exhaus- 
tion, its  moral  strength  amid  physical  weakness,  its  tender  epithet  for  the 
husband  whose  cruel  injustice  is  felt  none  the  less  deeply  for  the  irremov- 
able love  she  still  cherishes  for  him,  its  timid  hesitation  in  calling  for  help, 
its  vague  thought  of  defence  in  best  draw  my  sword,  its  avowal  of  greater 
dread  at  the  very  sight  of  the  sword  than  the  sword-drawer  can  hope  to 
inspire  by  use  of  the  weapon,  together  with  the  final  softly  smiling,  half 
self-pitying  exclamation,  half  aspiration  for  divine  aid,  are  all  intensely 
true  to  the  mingled  mental  courage  and  bodily  delicacy  of  such  a  wom- 
an as  Imogen,  who  is  the  very  embodiment  of  supreme  womanhood  " 
(Clarke). 

28.  Woodman.     Hunter  ;  the  common  acceptation  of  the  word  in  the 
time  of  S.  (Steevens).     Cf.  R.  of  L.  580  : 

"  He  is  no  woodman  that  doth  bend  his  bow 
To  strike  a  poor  unseasonable  doe  ;" 


200  NOTES. 

and  M.  W.  v.  5.  30:  Am  I  a  woodman,  ha?  speak  I  like  Herne  the 
hunter  ?" 

30.  Match.  Agreement,  compact;  as  in  W.  T.  v.  3.  137,  Cor.  ii.  3.  86,  etc. 

34.  Resty.  Too  fond  of  rest,  lazy,  torpid.  Cf.  Sonn.  100.  9  :  "  Rise, 
resty  muse."  We  find  "  resty-stiff  "  in  Edw.  III.  iii.  3. 

36.    Throughly.     See  on  ii.  4.  12  above. 

44.  An  earthly  paragon.  Cf.  T.  G.  of  K  ii.  4.  146  :  "  No  ;  but  she  is  an 
earthly  paragon." 

50.  /'  the  floor.  Changed  by  Hanmer  to  "o'  th'  floor;"  but  in  was 
sometimes --on.  Cf.  Gr.  160. 

52.  Parted.  Departed ;  as  in  Cor.  v.  6.  73  :  "  when  I  parted  hence," 
etc.  See  M.  of  F.  p.  145. 

55.  Of.     By.     Gr.  170. 

58.  Made  it.  Cf.  W.  T.  iii.  2.  218  :  "  All  faults  I  make,"  etc.  See  our 
ed.  p.  178. 

64.  /;/.  Into  ;  as  very  often.  Cf.  Oth.  v.  2.  292  :  "  Fallen  in  the  prac- 
tice of  a  cursed  slave,"  etc.  Gr.  159. 

66.    Well  encountered!     Well  met !     Cf.  i.  3.  32  above. 

70.  But  be.     For  the  use  of  but,  see  Gr.  126. 

71.  I  bid  for  you  as  I  V  buy.     "I  bid  for  you  with  a  sincere  desire  to 
have  you"  (J.  H.);  "I  bid  for  your  affection  as  I  do  buy  it  with  mine 
own  to  you  "  (Clarke).     Hanmer  has  "  I'd  bid." 

75.  Sprightly.     In  good  spirits. 

77.  Prize.  Estimation,  value.  Clarke  paraphrases  the  passage  thus  : 
"  then  would  the  prize  which  Leonatus  gained  in  winning  the  heiress  to 
the  crown  have  been  lessened  by  my  being  but  sister  to  the  royal  heirs." 
Heath  explains  it :  "  Then  had  the  prize  thou  hast  mastered  in  me  been 
less,  and  not  have  sunk  thee,  as  I  have  done,  by  over-lading  thee  ;"  but 
this  is  pressing  the  metaphor  too  far. 

79.  Wrings.  Writhes,  as  in  anguish.  Cf.  Much  Ado,  v.  I.  28:  "  those 
that  wring  under  the  load  of  sorrow  ;"  and  Hen.  F.  iv.  I.  253  : 

"  whose  sense  no  more  can  feel 
But  his  own  wringing.'' 

85.  Laying  by,  etc.  Setting  aside  that  worthless  tribute  of  obsequious 
adoration  which  the  fickle  crowd  pay  to  rank.  Johnson  explains  differing 
multitudes  as  =  "the  many-headed  rabble;"  but  it  seems  rather  to  be^ 
"  the  still  discordant,  wavering  multitude  "  of  2  Hen.  IV.  ind.  19. 

87.  Otit-peer.     Excel,  surpass ;  used  by  S.  only  here. 

89.  Leonatus"1.     The  folios  have  simply  "  Leonatus,"  which  V,  and  W. 
retain  ;  but  we  prefer  to  print  Leonatus'' ,  as  D.,  Sr.,  and  Clarke  do.     Cf. 
Lear,  p.  246,  note  on  This\  or  Gr.  461. 

90.  Hunt.     That  is,  the  game  taken  in  the  hunt. 

92.  Mannerly.  Adjectives  in  -ly  are  often  used  adverbially.  Cf.  Miich 
Ado,  ii.  i.  79:  "mannerly  modest;"  and  M.  of  V.  ii.  9.  100:  "Cupid's 
post  that  comes  so  mannerly."  See  also  on  ii.  3.  33  above. 

SCENE  VII. — 4.  And  that.     And  since  that.     See  on  iii.  5.  71  above. 
6.  Fair n  off.     Revolted.     Cf.  I  Hen.  IV.  i.  3.  94  : 


ACT  IV,     SCENES  L  AND  II.  2oi 

"Revolted  Mortimer! 
He  never  did  fall  off,  my  sovereign  liege, 
But  by  the  chance  of  war,"  etc. 

9.  Commands.  Changed  by  Theo.  to  "commends  ;"  but  the  meaning, 
as  Johnson  remarks,  may  be  "  commands  the  commission  to  be  given  to 
you."  The  expression  is  not  more  elliptical  than  many  in  the  present 
play.  K.,  V.,  W.,  Clarke,  and  others  retain  commands. 

14.  Suppliant.  Supplementary,  auxiliary  ;  the  only  instance  of  the 
adjective  in  S.  Capell  and  some  other  editors  spell  it  "  supplyant."  The 
accent  is  of  course  on  the  penult. 


ACT  IV. 

SCENE  I. — 4.  Saving  reverence  of.  Begging  pardon  of.  Saving  your 
reverence  was  a  common  apology  for  an  offensive  or  unseemly  word.  Cf. 
M.for  M.  ii.  I.  92,  Much  Ado,  iii.  4.  32,  M.  of  V.  ii.  2.  27,  139,  etc. 

12.  Single  oppositions.  Single  encounters  or  combats.  Cf.  I  Hen.  IV. 
'•  3-  99 :  "  I11  single  opposition,  hand  to  hand,"  etc.  Schmidt  explains 
it  as  =  " when  compared  as  to  particular  accomplishments;"  which  per- 
haps suits  the  context  quite  as  well. 

Imperseverant.  "  Giddy  -  headed,  flighty,  thoughtless  "  (  Schmidt ). 
Some  explain  it  as  "obstinately  persevering,  stubborn."  The  folios 
spell  the  word  "  imperseuerant,"  which  D.  and  others  change  to  "im- 
perceiverant ;"  but  that  is  hardly  an  admissible  derivative  from  per- 
ceive. 

What  mortality  is  !  What  a  thing  mortality  is  !  Cf.  M.  of  V.  \.  3. 
162  :  "  O  father  Abram,  what  these  Christians  are  !"  Gr.  256. 

15.  Enforced.     Cf.  M.  N.  D.  iii.  i.  205  :  "  enforced  chastity,"  etc. 

Hanmer  changed  thy  face  to  "  her  face  ;"  but  the  confusion  of  pro- 
nouns, as  Clarke  remarks,  is  "in  Cloten's  usual  blundering,  headlong 
manner." 

17.  Spiirn  her  home.     Cf.  iii.  5.  141  above. 

Happily.  The  folio  reading,  changed  by  Johnson  to  "haply."  Cf.  T. 
of  S.  iv.  4.  54  :  "  And  happily  we  might  be  interrupted,"  etc.  See  T.  N. 
p.  158,  or  Gr.  42. 

19.  Power  of.  Control  over ;  as  in  Ham.  ii.  2.  27 :  "  the  sovereign 
power  you  have  of  us." 

SCENE  II. — 8.  Citizen.  "  Cockney-bred,  effeminate  "  (Schmidt).  For 
wanton  (=one  brought  up  in  luxury),  cf.  K.  John,  v.  I.  70:  "a  beardless 
boy,  A  cocker'd  silken  wanton  ;"  and  Rich.  II.  v.  3.  10 :  "  While  he, 
young  wanton  and  effeminate  boy  "  (where  wanton  is  a  noun,  as  here). 
See  also  Ham.  p.  275,  note  on  Make  a  wanton  of  me. 

10.  Journal.  Diurnal,  daily;  as  in  M.  for  M.  iv.  3.  92  :  "Ere  twice 
the  sun  hath  made  his  journal  greeting,"  etc.  Johnson  paraphrases  the 
passage  thus  :  "  Keep  your  daily  course  uninterrupted  ;  if  the  stated  plan 
of  life  is  once  broken,  nothing  follows  but  confusion." 


202  ArOT£S. 

14.  Reason  of  it.  Talk  about  it.  Cf.  M.  of  V.  ii.  8.  27  :  "I  reason'd 
with  a  Frenchman  yesterday,"  etc. 

17.  How  much,  etc.  However  much,  etc.  See  Much  Ado,  p.  141,  and 
cf.  Gr.  46.  Capell  changed  How  to  "  As." 

24.  Strain.  Explained  by  Schmidt  as  "impulse,"  but  the  context 
shows  that  it  carries  with  it  the  idea  of  hereditary  disposition.  Cf.  its 
use=stock,  race  ;  as  in  J.  C.  v.  i.  59  :  "  the  noblest  of  thy  strain."  See 
also  Hen.  V.  p.  160. 

26,  27.  Cowards  father  .  .  .  and  grace.  In  the  folio  these  lines  are 
printed  thus : 

u  Cowards  father  Cowards,  &  Base  things  Syre  Bace ; 
"  Nature  hath  Meale,  and  Bran ;   Contempt,  and  Grace. 

It  must  not,  however,  be  inferred  that  the  couplet  is  a  quotation.  D.  has 
shown  (Remarks,  etc.,  1844,  p.  207)  that  maxims,  apothegms,  etc.,  used 
often  to  be  printed  in  this  way.  Cf.  T.  and  C.  i.  2.  319,  where  the  line 
("Achievement  is  command," etc.)  has  the  inverted  commas  in  the  folio, 
because,  as  the  preceding  line  states,  it  is  a  "maxim."  See  the  note  on 
the  passage  in  W.,  vol.  ix.  p.  142. 

29.  Miracle.  Schmidt  is  in  doubt  whether  this  is  verb  or  noun  ;  but  it 
can  well  enough  be  explained  as  the  latter.  The  meaning  seems  to  be : 
yet  this  youth,  whoever  he  may  be,  accomplishes  a  very  miracle  in  being 
loved  before  me.  For  who,  cf.  y.  C.  i.  3.  80 :  "  Let  it  be  who  it  is,"  etc. 

31.  So  please  yoii,  sir.  Tyrwliitt  wished  to  transfer  these  words  to 
Imogen,  as  a  "  courtly  phrase  "  out  of  place  in  the  mouth  of  Arviragus ; 
but,  as  Capell  suggests,  they  are  probably  addressed  to  Belarius,  who, 
after  saying  '  T  is  the  ninth  hour,  etc.,  takes  down  some  of  their  hunting 
weapons  and  hands  one  to  Arviragus.  The  three  men  may  be  supposed 
to  be  equipping  themselves  for  the  hunt  during  the  following  speech  of 
Imogen. 

35.  Imperious.  "Imperial"  (Malone).  Cf.  Ham.  v.  i.  236:  "Im- 
perious Caesar"  (the  quarto  reading) ;  T.  and  C.  iv.  5.  172  :  "  most  im- 
perious Agamemnon,"  etc. 

38.  Stir  him.     "  Move  him  to  tell  his  story  "  (Johnson). 

39.  Gentle.     Of  gentle  birth,  well-born. 

40.  Dishonestly  afflicted.      The  victim  of  others'  dishonesty,  or   dis- 
honourable conduct. 

45.  Huswife.     The  usual  spelling  in  the  early  eds.,  indicating  the  pro- 
nunciation.    Cf.  Cor.  p.  205. 

46.  And  shalt  be  ever.      Belarius  plays   upon   the  word  bound.      It 
would  hardly  be  necessary  to  refer  to  this,  if  Warb.  had  not  changed 
shalt  to  "shall."     Heath,  besides  making  this  change,  joined  the  words 
to  Imogen's  speech. 

47.  Appears  he  hath  had.     A  "confusion  of  construction"  (Gr.  411). 
K.  reads :   "  howe'er  distress'd  he  appears,  hath  had."     Clarke  makes 
appears^" shows,  makes  manifest ;"  but  we  cannot  believe  that  the  word 
is  ever  used  transitively.     See  Cor.  p.  251,  note  on  Is  well  appeared. 

49.  His  neat  cookery  !  Mrs.  Lennox  has  objected  to  this  as  inconsist- 
ent with  the  rank  of  Imogen  ;  but  see  p.  22  above.  The  folios  give  what 


ACT  IV.     SCENE  II.  203 

follows  to  "Arui.t"  but  Capell  is  clearly  right  in  continuing  the  speech 
to  Guiderius. 

50.  In  characters.    In  the  shape  of  letters.    Steevens  quotes  Fletcher, 
Elder  Brother:  "  And  how  to  cut  his  meat  in  characters." 

51.  As.     As  if.     Gr.  107. 

52.  Dieter.     The  only  instance  of  the  word  in  S. 

53-57.  As  if  .  .  .  rail  at.  Put  in  the  margin  as  spurious  by  Pope 
and  Hanmer. 

58.  Him.     The  folios  have  "  them  ;"  corrected  by  Pope. 

59.  Spurs.    "  The  longest  and  largest  leading  roots  of  trees  "  (Malone). 
Cf  Temp.  v.  I.  47  : 

"  and  by  the  spurs  pluck'd  up 
The  pine  and  cedar." 

61.  With.     The  preposition  has  troubled  some  of  the  commentators, 
but  the  twined  implied  in  untwine  is  "  understood  "  before  with  ;  or  we 
may   say,   with    Malone,   that    untwine  =  "  cease   to    twine."      Hanmer 
changed  with  to  "  from." 

62.  Great  morning.      Late  in  the  morning.      The  expression  occurs 
again  in  T.  and  C.  iv.  3.  I.     Steevens  compares  the  Fr.  grand  jour.    So 
de  grand  matin  =  very  early. 

67.  Saw  him  not.     Have  not  seen  him.     Cf.  191  below.     Gr.  347. 

75.  A  slave.  That  word  slave;  including  perhaps  the  other  meaning 
also :  a  slave  who  calls  me  a  slave. 

77.   To  who  ?     See  on  iii.  3.  87  above.     Cf.  Oth.  pp.  160,  200. 

80.  My  dagger  in  my  mouift.  Cf.  for  a  different  use  of  the  figure  Much 
Ado,  ii.  i.  255:  "She  speaks  poniards;"  and  Ham.  iii.  2.  414:  "I  will 
speak  daggers  to  her." 

84.  Make  thee.     See  on  iii.  4.  49  above. 

87.  Injurious.     Insolent.     See  on  iii.  i.  46  above. 

91.  Or  adder,  spider.  Omitted  by  Capell.  Hanmer  ends  the  line  at 
toad,  and  begins  the  next  with  "  Adder,  or  spider,  it  would,"  etc. 

93.  Mere.  Absolute.  See  J.  C.  p.  129,  note  on  Merely  upon  myself. 
Cf.  v.  3.  n  below. 

95.  Afeard.  Used  by  S.  interchangeably  with  afraid.  See  Macb.  p. 
163,  note  on  Nothing afeard. 

97.  Die  the  death.     The  form  of  a  judicial  sentence  (cf.  M.for  M.  ii.  4. 
165),  and  hence  used  of  a  violent  death.     See  also  M.  N.  D.  p.  126. 

98.  Proper.     Own ;  as  in  Temp.  iii.  3. 60 :  "  Their  proper  selves,"  etc. 
100.  Lad's  town.     See  on  iii.  I.  32  above. 

105.  Favour.  Personal  appearance.  See  on  i.  6.  41  above,  and  cf. 
iii.  4.  48. 

107.  Absolute.  Positive,  certain  ;  as  in  Ham.  v.  i.  148  :  "  How  abso- 
lute the  knave  is  ?"  Cf.  perfect  in  1 19  below. 

1 10.  Fell.  Fierce,  cruel ;  as  in  T.  and  C.  iv.  5.  269  :  "-fell  as  death," 
etc. 

in.  Apprehension.  Conception,  appreciation  ;  not = dread.  Cf.  Hen. 
V.  iii.  7.  145  :  "  If  the  English  had  any  apprehension,  they  would  run 
away  ;"  and  see  our  ed.  p.  171. 

112.  Defect.     Changed  by  Theo.  to  "effect."     Hanmer  changed  cause 


204 


NOTES. 


in  the  next  line  to  "  cure."  Sundry  other  emendations  have  been  pro- 
posed, none  of  which  seem  to  us  at  all  satisfactory.  The  passage,  as  it 
stands,  appears  to  say  the  opposite  of  what  is  meant ;  but  we  are  in- 
clined to  think  it  one  of  those  inadvertencies  in  the  use  of  negatives 
to  which  the  poet  appears  to  have  been  prone.  He  not  unfrequently 
got  in  one  too  many  (see  on  i.  4.  20  above),  and  sometimes  one  too 
few  (cf.  A.  Y.  L.  iii.  2.  31,  and  see  our  ed.  p.  156,  note  on  No  more  do 
yours}.  The  present  instance  seems  to  us  to  belong  to  the  latter  list. 
Fear  is  elliptically  —  defect  of  fear,  the  word  in  the  former  part  of  the 
sentence  being  made  to  do  duty  by  implication  in  the  latter.  Schmidt 
does  not  include  this  passage  among  his  examples  of  a  negative  "want- 
ing, as  being  borne  in  mind,  though  not  expressed"  (Lexicon,  p.  1421), 
but  we  think  it  is  clearly  analogous  to  some  that  he  does  give — especially 
the  one  in  A.  Y.  L.  iii.  2.  31.  See,  however,  p.  226  below. 

117.  /  not  doing  this.     If  I  had  not  done  this.     Gr.  377. 

119.  Perfect.     See  on  iii.  I.  71  above. 

122.   Take  us  in.     Overcome  us.     See  on  iii.  2.  9  above. 

130.  For.     Because  ;  as  in  iii.  4.  51  above. 

132.  Safe.     Sound  ;  as  in  Lear,  iv.  6.  81  :  "  The  safer  sense,"  etc. 

133.  Humour.     The  folios  have  "  honor  "  or  "  honour  ;"  corrected  by 
Theo. 

137.    To  bring  him  here.     For  the  ellipsis  of  as,  see  Gr.  281. 

139.  Cave.     The  only  instance  of  the  verb  in  S. 

140.  Head.     Armed  force.     See  on  iii.  5.  25  above. 

142.  Fetch  us  in.  Capture  us ;  as  in  A.  and  C.  iv.  I.  14  :  '  Enough  to 
fetch  him  in."  Cf.  122  above. 

146.  Ordinance.     That  which  is  ordained  by  the  gods.     Cf.  Rich.  III. 
iv.  4.  183  :  "  by  God's  just  ordinance,"  etc. 

147.  Howsoever.     However  this  may  be. 

150.  Did  make  my  way  long  forth.  "Made  my  walk  forth  from  the 
cave  tedious  "  (Johnson). 

155.  Reck.  Care.  The  word  is  spelt  "  reake  "  or  "  reak  "  in  the  folios. 
Cf.  A.  Y.  L.  p.  159 ;  and  see  also  Cor.  p.  237,  note  on  Reckless. 

159.  Brotherly.     See  on  mannerly,  iii.  6.  92  above. 

1 60.  Revenges,  etc.      "  Such  pursuit  of  vengeance  as  fell  within  any 
possibility  of  opposition  "  (Johnson). 

161.  Seek  us  through.     Seek  us  out,  follow  us  up. 

168.  To  gain  his  colour.     "  To  restore  him  to  the  bloom  of  health  " 
(Steevens). 

169.  Let .  .  .  blood.     Cf.  J.  C.  iii.  I.  152 :  "  Who  else  must  be  let  blood," 
etc. 

Parish  is  evidently  =  " as  many  as  would  fill  a  parish"  (Johnson),  but 
Hanmer  changed  it  to  "marish."  Edwards  takes  the  trouble  to  inform 
us  that  the  meaning  is  not  "  I  would  let  out  a  parish  of  blood ;"  and  Ma- 
lone  says  :  "  Mr.  Edwards  is,  I  think,  right  '"for,  as  he  adds,  we  find  "  a 
band  of  Clotens  "  in  v.  5.  304  below. 

171.  Divine.     For  the  accent,  see  on  ii.  I.  55  above. 

175.  Enchafd.  Excited,  enraged.  Cf.  Oth.  ii.  I.  17:  "On  the  en- 
chafed  flood,"  See  J.  C.  p.  131,  on  The  troubled  Tiber  chafing,  etc.  . 


ACT  IV.    SCENE  II.  2O5 

For  rudest,  see  on  I.  i.  96  above  and  cf.  191  below.     Pope  has  "rude." 
176.  By  the  top  doth  take,  etc.     Cf.  2  Hen.  IV.  iii.  i.  22  : 

"  the  winds, 
Who  take  the  ruffian  billows  by  the  top,"  etc. 

178.  Instinct.  For  the  accent,  cf.  Rich.  III.  ii.  3.  42,  Cor.  v.  3.  35,  etc. 
See  also  2  Hen.  IV.  p.  149.  Gr.  490. 

180.  Other.     Cf.  iii.  i.  36  above.     Gr.  12. 

185.  Clotpoll.  Head.  For  its  contemptuous  personal  use  (=block- 
head),  see  Lear,  p.  184. 

187.  Ingenious.  The  folios  have  "  ingenuous ;"  corrected  by  Rowe. 
The  words  are  used  indiscriminately  in  the  early  eds. 

192.  It  did  not  speak.     See  on  67  above.     Gr.  347. 

193.  Answer.     Answer  to,  correspond  to.     Cf.  v.  5.  449  below. 

194.  Toys.     Trifles.     Cf.  I  Hen.  VI.  iv.  I.  145  :  "a  toy,  a  thing  of  no 
regard,"  etc. 

199.  Made  so  much  on.  Cf.  Cor.  iv.  5.  203  :  "  he  is  so  made  on  here," 
etc.  For  the  interchange  of  on  and  of,  see  Gr.  181. 

V.  quotes  Mrs.  Radcliffe  here  :  "  No  master  ever  knew  how  to  touch 
the  accordant  springs  of  sympathy  by  small  circumstances  like  our  own 
Shakespeare.  In  Cymbeline,  for  instance,  how  finely  such  circumstances 
are  made  use  of  to  awaken,  at  once,  solemn  expectation  and  tenderness, 
and,  by  recalling  the  softened  remembrance  of  a  sorrow  long  past,  to  pre- 
pare the  mind  to  melt  at  one  that  was  approaching ;  mingling  at  the  same 
time,  by  means  of  a  mysterious  occurrence,  a  slight  tremor  of  awe  with 
our  pity  !  Thus,  when  Belarius  and  Arviragus  return  to  the  cave  where 
they  had  left  the  unhappy  and  worn-out  Imogen  to  repose,  while  they  are 
yet  standing  before  it,  and  Arviragus — speaking  of  her  with  tenderest 
pity  as  'poor  sick  Fidele' — goes  out  to  inquire  for  her,  solemn  music 
is  heard  from  the  cave,  sounded  by  that  harp  of  which  Guiderius  says, 
4  Since  the  death  of  my  dearest  mother  it  did  not  speak  before.  All 
solemn  things  should  answer  solemn  accidents.'  Immediately,  Arvira- 
gus enters  with  Fidele  senseless  in  his  arms : 

'  The  bird  is  dead  that  we  have  made  so  much  on.  ... 
Guiderius.  Why,  he  but  sleeps.  .  .  . 
Arviragus.  With  fairest  flowers, 
While  summer  lasts,  AND  I  LIVE  HERE,  FIDELE, 
I  '11  sweeten  thy  sad  grave.' 

Tears  alone  can  speak  the  touching  simplicity  of  the  whole  scene." 

206.  Crare.  A  kind  of  small  vessel.  The  folios  have  "care,"  and 
crare  is  the  emendation  of  Steevens  (the  conjecture  of  Simpson).  Theo. 
and  Hanmer  have  "carack"  (the  suggestion  of  Warb.),  for  which  see 
Oth.  p.  1 60.  Steevens  gives  many  examples  of  crare  (also  spelt  craer,  , 
cray  or  craye,  crea,  etc.)  from  B.  and  F.,  Drayton,  Heywood,  and  other 
writers  of  the  time.  It  occurs  also  in  Holinshed,  North's  Plutarch,  Hak- 
luyt's  Voyages,  etc.  Malone  cites  Florio,  Ital.  Diet. :  "  Vurchio.  A  hulke, 
a  crayer,  a  lyter,  a  wherrie,  or  such  vessel  of  burthen." 

208.  But  I.     That  is,  but  I  know.     Rowe  (2d  ed.)  reads  "but  ah  !" 
210.  Stark.     Cf.  the  effect  of  the  sleeping-potion  in  •A*,  and  J.  iv.  i. 
103: 


2o6  NOTES. 

"  Each  part,  depriv'd  of  supple  government, 
Shall,  stiff  and  stark  and  cold,  appear  like  death." 

215.  Clouted  brogues.  Heavy  shoes  strengthened  with  clouts,  or  hob- 
nails (Steevens).  Cf.  2  Hen.  VI.  iv.  2.  195  :  "clouted  shoon."  Accord- 
ing to  others,  clouted—  patched.  This  would  seem  to  be  the  meaning  in 
Josh.  ix.  5  :  "  old  shoes  and  clouted."  Cf.  Latimer,  Sermons :  "  he  should 
not  have  clouting  leather  to  piece  his  shoes  with."  See  also  Wb. 

219.  To  thee.  Changed  by  Hanmer  to  "near  him,"  and  by  Rann  to 
"  to  him ;"  but  we  have  already  had  several  examples  of  this  confusion  of 
pronouns  in  the  present  play.  See  on  iii.  3.  105  above.  "  Here  Guide- 
rius  replies  to  his  brother's  remark  upon  Fidele's  looking  but  as  if 
asleep,  and  continues  speaking  of  the  gentle  lad  in  the  third  person  until, 
looking  upon  the  beautiful  form  that  lies  apparently  dead  before  him,  a 
sense  of  its  loveliness  and  his  own  impassioned  regret  at  having  to  con- 
sign it  to  the  grave  comes  full  upon  him,  and  he  ends  with  addressing  it 
rather  than  speaking  of  it "  (Clarke). 

With  fairest  flowers,  etc.  V.  remarks  here  :  "  '  The  White  Devil,  or 
Vittoria  Corombona,  a  tragedy  by  John  Webster,'  is  one  of  the  most  re- 
markable productions  of  Shakespeare's  contemporaries.  The  principal 
character  is  a  bold  and  beautiful  conception  of  daring  female  guilt,  which 
may  almost  vie  with  Lady  Macbeth,  and  may  have  been  suggested  by 
her",  though  in  no  respect  a  copy.  But  the  play  contains  several  passages 
in  which  the  author  is  certainly  indebted  to  his  recollections  of '  Master 
Shakspeare,'  whose  '  right  happy  and  copieous  industry '  he  commends 
in  his  preface.  One  passage  is  directly  from  Hamlet.  A  lady,  resem- 
bling Ophelia  in  her  grief  and  distraction,  thus  addresses  her  friends : 

'you're  very  welcome. 
Here's  rosemary  for  you,  and  rue  for  you; 
Heart' s-ease  for  you  :   I  pray  you  make  much  of  it : 
I  have  left  more  for  myself.' 

"  Imogen's  apparent  soft  and  smiling  death,  as  described  in  the  text, 
has  been  supposed  to  be  the  origin  of  the  following  beautiful  lines : 

4  Oh,  thou  soft  natural  death !  thou  art  joint-twin 
To  sweetest  slumber  :  no  rough-bearded  comet 
Stares  on  thy  mild  departure :  the  dull  owl 
Beats  not  against  thy  casement :  the  hoarse  wolf 
Scents  not  thy  carrion: — pity  winds  thy  corse, 
While  horror  waits  on  princes!' 

"  Cornelia's  distraction  over  her  dead  son,  again,  owes  something  to  the 
last  scene  of  Lear  ;  while  the  funeral  dirge  for  young  Marcello,  sung  by 
her,  is  still  more  directly  borrowed  from  this  scene  : 

'Call  for  the  robin-redbreast  and  the  wren, 

Since  o'er  shady  grove  they  hover, 

And  with  leaves  and  flowers  do  cover 
v  The  friendless  bodies  of  unburied  men. 

Call  unto  his  funeral  dole, 

The  ant,  the  field-mouse,  and  the  mole, 
To  raise  him  hillocks  that  shall  keep  him  warm, 
And  (when  gay  tombs  are  robb'd)  sustain  no  harm ; 
But  keep  the  wolf  far  hence,  that 's  foe  to  men, 
For  with  his  nails  he'll  dig  them  up  again,'  etc. 


ACT  IV.    SCENE  II. 


207 


"The  last  generation  of  critics  perceived  the  resemblance,  but  were 
perplexed  by  the  fact  that  Webster's  play  was  printed  in  1612,  eleven  years 
before  the  first  edition  of  Cymbeline  ;  so  that  it  was  not  quite  clear  to 
them  whether  Shakespeare  had  not  himself  borrowed  from  the  two  last- 
quoted  passages.  But  since  their  day  we  have  learned  from  Dr.  Forman 
that  Cymbeline  was  acted  at  least  one  year  before  Webster's  White 
Devil,  so  that  Webster,  who  was  originally  an  actor,  was  doubtless  fa- 
miliar with  its  poetry  as  represented,  and  had,  perhaps,  himself  delivered 
the  lament  of  Arviragus.  Indeed,  his  imitations  are  not  direct  copies, 
like  those  of  a  plagiarist  from  the  book,  but  are  rather  the  vivid  results 
of  the  impression  made  upon  the  younger  poet,  by  the  other's  fancy  and 
feeling  thus  reproducing  themselves,  mingled  with  the  new  conceptions 
of  a  congenial  mind." 

222.  Pale  primrose.     Cf.  W.  T.  iv.  4.  122  : 

"pale  primroses, 
That  die  unmarried ;" 

and  2  Hen.  VI.  iii.  2.  63  :  "  Look  pale  as  primroses." 

224.  Whom.   Often  used  "  to  personify  irrational  antecedents "(Gr.  264). 

225.  Ruddock.     The  redbreast ;  spelt  "  raddocke  "  or  "  raddock  "  in  the 
folios.     Cf.  Spenser,  Epithalamion :  "the  Ruddock  warbles  soft." 

230.  Winter-ground.     This  seems  to  have  been  a  term  for  covering 
plants  with  straw,  etc.,  to  protect  them  during  the  winter.    Theo.  changed 
it  to  "winter-gown"  (the  suggestion  of  Warb.),  and  the  Coll.  MS.  has 
"winter-guard." 

The  notion  that  the  redbreast  covered  the  dead  with  leaves  appears  to 
be  older  than  the  ballad  of  The  Babes  in  the  Wood.  Reed  quotes  Thos. 
Johnson,  Cornucopia,  1596  :  "The  robin  redbrest  if  he  find  a  rnan  or 
woman  dead,  will  cover  all  his  face  with  mosse,  and  some  thinke  that  if 
the  body  should  remaine  unburied  that  he  would  cover  the  whole  body 
also."  Cf.  Drayton,  The  Owl: 

"Cov'ring  with  moss  the  dead's  unclosed  eye, 
The  little  red-breast  teacheth  charitie." 

231.  Wench-like.     Womanish. 

233.  Admiration.     The  word  combines  here  the  senses  of  wonder  and 
veneration.     For  the  former,  see  on  i.  6.  37  above. 

234.  Shall  'j.    Shall  us  ;  that  is,  shall  we.    Cf.  Cor.  iv.  6. 148 :  "  Shall  's 
to  the  Capitol  ?"     See  also  W.  T.  i.  2.  178,  Per.  iv.  5.  7,  and  v.  5.  228  be- 
low.    Gr.  215. 

238.  Our.     The  folios  have  "  to  our  ;"  corrected  by  Pope. 
244.  Great  griefs,  I  see,  etc.     See  on  i.  i.  135  above.     For  medicine  as 
a  verb,  cf.  Oth.  iii.  3.  332. 

247.  Paid.     Punished  ;  as  in  v.  4.  161  below. 

248.  Reverence,  etc.     "  Reverence,  or  due  regard  to  subordination,  is  the 
power  that  keeps  peace  and  order  in  the  world  "  (Johnson). 

253.  Thersites\     Cf.  T.  and  C.  i.  3.  73,  etc. ;  and  for  Ajax\  Id.  i.  2.  14, 
etc. 

254.  Are.     The  Coll.  MS.  has  "  is."     For  the  plural,  cf.  L.  L.  L.  ii.  I. 
133  :  "  But  say  that  he  or  we,  as  neither  have,"  etc. 


208  NOTES. 

256.  To  the  east.  For  old  superstitions  concerning  the  position  of 
graves,  etc.,  see  Brand's  Popular  Antiquities  (Bohn's  ed.),  vol.  ii.  p.  295 
fol.  Cf.  p.  37  above  ;  and  also  Ham.  p.  259,  note  on  Straight. 

259.  Fear  no  more,  etc.  Several  of  the  editors  quote  Collins's  imitation 
of  this  dirge,  which,  as  V.  observes,  "  exhibits  his  usual  exquisite  taste  and 
felicity  of  expression,  although  inferior  to  the  original  in  condensation  and 
characteristic  simplicity  :" 

"To  fair  Fidele's  grassy  tomb 

Soft  maids  and  village  hinds  shall  bring 
Each  opening  sweet  of  earliest  bloom, 
And  rifle  all  the  breathing  spring. 

No  wailing  ghost  shall  dare  appear 

To  vex  with  shrieks  this  quiet  grove  ; 
But  shepherd  lads  assemble  here, 

And  melting  virgins  own  their  love. 

No  withered  witch  shall  here  be  seen  ; 

No  goblins  lead  their  nightly  crew  ; 
The  female  fays  shall  haunt  the  green, 

And  dress  thy  grave  with  pearly  dew. 

The  red-breast  oft,  at  evening  hours, 

Shall  kindly  lend  his  little  aid. 
With  hoary  moss  and  gathered  flowers, 

To  deck  the  ground  where  thou  art  laid. 

When  howling  winds  and  beating  rain 

In  tempests  shake  the  sylvan  cell ; 
Or,  midst  the  chase,  on  every  plain, 

The  tender  thought  on  thee  shall  dwell :  — 

Each  lonely  scene  shall  thee  restore  ; 

For  thee  the  tear  be  truly  shed ; 
Beloved  till  life  can  charm  no  more, 

And  mourned  till  pity's  self  be  dead." 

K.  remarks :  "  There  is  nothing  to  us  more  striking  than  the  contrast 
which  is  presented  between  the  free  natural  lyric  sung  by  the  brothers 
over  the  grave  of  Fidele  and  the  elegant  poem  which  some  have  thought 
so  much  more  beautiful.  The  one  is  perfectly  in  keeping  ['  barring,'  say 
we,  the  closing  couplets  of  the  stanzas]  with  all  that  precedes  and  all  that 
follows  ;  the  other  is  entirely  out  of  harmony  with  its  associations.  4  To 
fair  Fidele's  grassy  tomb '  is  the  dirge  of  Collins  over  Fidele ;  '  Fear  no 
more  the  heat  o'  the  sun'  is  P'idele's  proper  funeral  song  by  her  bold 
brothers." 

263,  264.  Golden  lads,  etc.  St.  remarks  (and  we  fully  agree  with  him) : 
"There  is  something  so  strikingly  inferior,  both  in  the  thoughts  and  ex- 
pression of  the  concluding  couplet  to  each  stanza  in  this  song,  that  we 
may  fairly  set  them  down  as  additions  from  the  same  hand  which  fur- 
nished the  contemptible  Masque  or  Vision  that  deforms  the  last  act." 

¥  or  girls  all  the  Coll.  MS.  has  "lasses." 

272.   Thunder-stone.     Thunder-bolt.     Cf.  J.  C.  p.  138. 

276.  Consign  to  thee.  Come  to  the  same  state,  submit  to  the  same 
terms.  Johnson  conjectured  "  this  "  for  thee. 


ACT  IV.    SCENE  II. 


209 


277.  Exerciser.  Conjurer,  one  who  raised  spirits.  Cf.  exorcist  in  A. 
W.  v.  3.  305  and  J.  C.  ii.  I.  323  (see  our  ed.  p.  150). 

281.  Consummation.  The  final  summing-up  or  end  of  mortal  life.  Cf. 
Ham.  ill.  I.  63  :  «  a  consummation 

Devoutly  to  be  wish'd." 

Steevens  quotes  Edw.  III. :  "  To  darkness,  consummation,  dust,  and 
worms." 

286.  Faces.  Malone  objected  to  the  plural,  as  Cloten's  corpse  was 
headless,  and  Hanmer  gave  "  Upon  the  face — "  Clarke  takes  it  to  re- 
fer to  "  the  faces  of  corpses  generally." 

288.  Herblets.     The  only  instance  of  the  diminutive  in  S. 

291.  So  is.  The  folio  has  "so  are  ;"  probably  in  this  instance  an  ac- 
cidental repetition  of  the  are  just  before. 

294.  'Ods  pittikins!  One  of  the  petty  oaths  of  the  time,  corrupted 
from  "  God's  pity  !"  Cf.  'Ods pity  (Oth.  iv.  3.  75),  "Ods  heartlings  (M.  W. 
iii.  4.  59),  'Ods  lifelings  ( T.  N.  v.  i.  187),  etc. 

For  mile,  cf.  Macb.  v.  5.  37  :  "  within  this  three  mile,"  etc.  See  Rich. 
II.  p.  182,  note  on  a  thousand  pound. 

299.  Cave-keeper.  Dweller  in  a  cave ;  like  housekeeper,  etc.  Pope 
changes  so  to  "sure,"  and  the  Coll.  MS.  gives  " lo  !" 

302.  Fumes.     Vapours,  phantoms  ;  as  in  Temp,  v.  I.  67 : 

"their  rising  senses 

Begin  to  chase  the  ignorant  fumes  that  mantle 
Their  clearer  reason ;" 

and  Macb.  i.  7.  66  : 

"memory,  the  warder  of  the  brain, 
Shall  be  a  fume,"  etc. 

306.  Fear' d  gods.     Changed  by  Pope  to  "oh  gods  !" 

311.  Mercurial.    "  Light  and  nimble  like  that  of  Mercury  "  (Schmidt) ; 
the  only  instance  of  the  adjective  in  S. 

312.  Brawns.      Brawny  arms.      Cf.  Cor.  iv.  5.  126:  "to  hew  thy  tar- 
get from  thy  brawn,"  etc.     Pope  changes  the  word  to  "  arms." 

Jovial.    Like  that  of  Jove  ;  used  by  S.  only  here  and  in  v.  4.  105  below. 
314.  Madded.    See  on  ii.  2.  37  above.    For  Hecuba,  cf.  Ham.  ii.  2.  523, 
584,  T.  and  C.  i.  2.  i,  etc. 

316.  Irregulous.    Apparently  =  irregular,  lawless;  a  word  found  no- 
where else.     Johnson  conjectured  "  th'  irreligious.'1 

317.  Hast.     The  folios  have  "  Hath  ;"  corrected  by  Pope. 
320.  Most  bravest.     See  on  i.  6.  161  above. 

324.  This  head.  Evidently=the  head  belonging  to  this  body;  but 
changed  in  the  3d  folio  to  "  his  head,"  and  by  Hanmer  to  "thy  head." 

326,  Pregnant.  Full  of  probability.  Cf.  M.for  M.  ii.  I.  2'3  :  "  'Tis 
very  pregnant,"  etc.  See  also  Lear,  p.  198. 

329.  Home.     Fully.     See  on  iii.  5.  92  above. 

333.  Which.     Who.    Cf.  ii.  3. 105  above.     Gr.  265. 

334.  To  them.    In  addition  to  them.     Cf.  K.  John,  i.  I.  144 :  "  And,  to 
his  shape,  were  heir  of  all  this  land,"  etc.     Gr.  185. 

338.   Confiners.      Probably  =  inhabitants  (Schmidt),  not  "borderers," 

o 


2IO  NOTES. 

as  generally  explained.  -  Cf.  the  use  of  confines— territory ;  as  in  A.  Y.  L. 
ii.  i.  24,  Rich.  II.  i.  3. 137,  J.  C.  iii.  I.  272,  etc. 

342.  Sienna's  brother.     Brother  to  the  ruler  of  Sienna. 

343.  Benefit  o1  the  wind.    Cf.  Ham.  \.  3.  2 :   "  as  the  winds  give  benefit." 
348.  Fast.     Fasted.    "  In  verbs  in  which  the  infinitive  ends  in  -/,  -edis 

often  omitted  in  the  past  indicative  for  euphony"  (Gr.  341).  Cf.  lift  in 
John,  xiii.  18  (lifted  in  the  "Revised  Version"  of  1881),  roast  in  Exod. 
xii.  8,  etc. 

350.  Spongy  south.     See  on  ii.  3.  129  above. 

352.  Abuse.     Corrupt,  pei  vert. 

361.  Instruct  us  of.     Equivalent  to  inform  us  of'm  next  line. 

363.  Crave  to  be  demanded.     Call  for  investigation. 

365.  That,  otherwise  than  nature,  etc.  "  Who  has  altered  this  picture, 
to  make  it  otherwise  than  nature  did  it  ?"  (Johnson). 

367.    Wrack.     See  on  i.  6.  83  above. 

372.   There  is.     See  on  iii.  4.  140  above. 

378.  If  I  do  lie,  etc.  "Into  the  mouth  of  the  pure-souled  Imogen  S. 
has  characteristically  put  this  shrinking  from  the  necessity  for  untruth, 
and  the  appeal  to  Heaven  for  divine  forgiveness  for  her  reluctantly  com- 
mitted error.  He  has  depicted  the  same  -aversion  to  falsehood  in  the 
innocent  and  royal-natured  Perdita;  while  he  has  made  even  the  princely 
Florizel  condescend  to  misstatements  for  the  sake  of  needful  conceal- 
ment. Thus  clearly  does  the  man  and  poet  Shakespeare  denote  his 
genuine  perception  and  appreciation  of  the  sacredness  of  truth,  at  the 
very  time  that  the  dramatic  Shakespeare  allows  of  equivocation  as  a 
necessary  part  of  dramatic  disguise"  (Clarke). 

380.  Say  you,  sir?     See  on  ii.  I.  24  above. 

381.  Approve.     Prove  ;  as  in  v.  5.  245  below. 

387.  Prefer.     Recommend.     See  on  ii.  3.  44  above,  and  cf.  401  below. 

390.  Pickaxes.     "  Meaning  her  fingers  "  (Johnson). 

392.  Century.  Hundred.  Elsewhere  (Cor.  i.  7.  3  and  Lear,  iv.  4. 6)  it 
means  a  company  of  a  hundred  men. 

395.  Entertain.  Employ,  take  into  service  ;  as  in  Much  Ado,  i.  3.  60 : 
"  entertained  for  a  perfumer ;"  Lear,  iii.  6. 83  :  "  You,  sir,  I  entertain  for 
one  of  my  hundred,"  etc. 

400.  Partisans.     Halberds.     Cf.  Ham.  p.  176. 

401.  Arm  him.      Take  him  in  your  arms.     Steevens  cites  Fletcher, 

Two  Noble  Kinsmen : 

"Arm  your  prize ; 
I  know  you  will  not  lose  her." 

SCENE  III. — Pope  and  Hanmer  made  this  scene  the  8th  of  act  iii. 
6.   Upon  a  desperate  bed.    That  is,  hopelessly  (or  very  dangerously)  sick. 
II.  Enforce.     "  Force  "  (Pope's  emendation).     Cf.  R.  and  J.  v.  3.  47  : 
"Thus  I  enforce  thy  rotten  jaws  to  open,"  etc.     See  also  iv.  i.  15  above. 

21.  And  will.     For  the  ellipsis  of  the  subject,  see  Gr.  399, 400.     Han- 
mer reads  "  He  will,"  and  Capell  "  And  he  '11." 

22.  Slip  you.   Let  you  go.     Cf.  3  Hen.  VI.  ii.  2.  162 :   "  Had  slipp'd  our 
chain  until  another  age,"  etc. 

23.  Depend.     Impend;  or  perhaps = remain  in  suspense. 


ACT  IV.    SCENE  IV.  2  r  r 

28.  Amaz'd.    In  a  maze,  bewildered,  confused.    Cf.  V.  and  A.  684 :  "  a 
labyrinth  to  amaze  his  foes;"  K.  John,  iv.  3.  140:   "I  am  amaz'd,  me- 
thinks,  and  lose  my  way,"  etc.     Matter— business. 

29.  Affront.     Confront,  encounter  ;  as  in  Ham.  iii.  I.  31 : 

"That  he,  as  't  were  by  accident,  may  here 
Affront  Ophelia,"  etc. 

The  meaning  is  :  "  Your  forces  are  able  to  face  such  an  army  as  we  hear 
the  enemy  will  bring  against  us"  (Johnson). 

36.  I  heard  no  letter.  I  have  heard  nothing  (that  is,  by  letter],  as  we 
still  are  in  the  habit  of  saying.  For  the  use  of  the  past  tense  with  since, 
cf.  iv.  2.  191  above.  Hanmer  changes  I  heard  to  "  I  've  had,"  and  Coll. 
to  "I  had"  (Mason's  conjecture).  Malone  and  Schmidt  take  letter  in 
the  alphabetical  sense.  I  heard  no  letter  is  then  =  I  have  heard  no  jot,  I 
have  not  heard  a  syllable.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  as  W.  notes,  we  say 
"  I  have  not  heard  a  line" 

40.  Betid.  Befallen  (from  betide].  For  the  form,  cf.  Rich.  II.  v.  i.  42  : 
"long  ago  betid,"  etc. 

44.  Even  to  the  note  rf  the  king.  "  I  will  so  distinguish  myself,  the 
king  shall  remark  my  valour"  (Johnson). 

SCENE  IV. — 2.  Find  we.     The  ist  folio  has  "  we  finde  ;"  corrected  in 
the  2d. 
4.   This  way.     If  we  take  this  course. 

6.  Revolts.     "  Revolters  "  (Pope's  reading),  or  deserters.     Cf.  K.  John, 
v.  2.  151  :  "  And  you  degenerate,  you  ingrate  revolts ;"  and  Id.  v.  4.  7  : 
"Lead  me  to  the  revolts  of  England  here." 

7.  During  their  use.     While  they  can  use  us,  while  they  have  need  of 
us.     For  the  adverbial  use  of  after,  see  Gr.  26. 

II.  May  drive  us  to  a  render,  etc.  May  compel  us  to  render  an  ac- 
count of  where  we  have  been  living.  For  render  as  a  noun,  cf.  v.  4.  1 7 
below.  Johnson  remarks :  "  This  dialogue  is  a  just  representation  of 
the  superfluous  caution  of  an  old  man." 

13.  Answer.  Penalty,  punishment ;  as  in  T.  of  A.  v.  4.  63 :  "  At 
heaviest  answer,"  etc. 

1 8.  Their  quartered  fires.    Their  camp  fires,  the  fires  in  their  quarters. 

19.  So  cloy" d  importantly.     So  momentously  and  completely  occupied. 
Importantly  is  used  by  S.  only  here. 

20.  Upon  our  note.     In  taking  note  of  us. 

23.  Not  ivore  him.  For  the  transposition  of  not,  see  on  i.  6. 154  above. 
Gr.  305. 

27.  The  certainty.  "  The  certain  consequence "  (Malone).  Clarke 
thinks  it  may  also  mean  "  the  actual  experience." 

29.  But  to  be  still,  etc.  "  But  doomed  to  be  still,"  etc.  Tanlings  is  used 
by  S.  nowhere  else. 

33.  Thereto  so  overgrown.  In  addition  thereto  so  overgrown  with 
hair ;  referring  to  his  beard  and  bushy  head.  Cf.  v.  3.  17  below.  For 
//fcmtf0= besides,  cf.  W.  T.  i.  2.  391  and  Oth.  ii.  i.  133.  Schmidt  thinks 
that  overgrown  may  possibly  mean  grown  old ;  as  in  M.  for  M.  i.  3.  22. 


2I2  NOTES. 

35.  What  thing  is  it,  etc.  What  a  thing  it  is,  etc.  Cf.  J.  C.  i.  3.  42 : 
"  What  night  is  this  !"  etc.  Gr.  86. 

38.  Bestrid.  Cf.  Rich.  II.  v.  5.  79  :  "  That  horse  that  thou  so  often  hast 
bestrid,"  etc. 

48.  Of.  Changed  by  Capell  to  "  on  ;"  but,  as  we  have  seen,  the  two 
prepositions  are  often  interchanged.  Gr.  175,  181,  182. 

50.  Have  with  you!  Take  me  with  you,  I '11  go  with  you  ;  a  common 
idiom.  Cf.  M.  W.  ii.  I.  161,  229,  239,  iii.  2.  93,  Cor.  ii.  I.  286,  etc. 

53.   Thinks  scorn.     Disdains  the  thought  of  any  thing  else. 


ACT   V. 

SCENE  I. — I.  I  wished.  The  folios  have  "I  am  wisht;"  corrected  by 
Pope.  Sr.  (2d  ed.)  reads  "  I  e'en  wish'd." 

5.   Wrying.     Going  astray.      Cf.  the  verb  in  bed-swerver  ( W.  T.  ii. 

I-  93)- 
9.  Put  on.     Incite,  instigate  (Johnson).     Cf.  Ham.  pp.  257,  277. 

14.  Each  elder  worse.    Here  elder  seems  to  be  =  later,  or  "  committed  at 
a  more  advanced  age  "  (Schmidt).     Rowe  reads  "  worse  than  other,"  Coll. 
(from  his  MS.)  "later  worse,"  and  Sr.  (2d  ed.)  "alder-worse." 

15.  And  make  them  dread  it,  to  the  doers''  thrift.     If  this  be  what  S. 
wrote,  Mason's  explanation  seems  on  the  whole  the  most  in  keeping  with 
the  context :  "  Some  you  snatch  from  hence  for  little  faults  ;  others  you 
suffer  to  heap  ills  on  ills,  and  afterwards  make  them  dread  their  having 
done  so  [dreading  the  consequences,  or  the  punishment,  we  should  prefer 
to  say],  to  the  eternal  welfare  of  the  doers."     He  adds  :  "It  is  not  the 
commission  of  the  crimes  that  is  supposed  to  be  for  the  doers'  thrift,  but 
his  dreading  them  afterwards,  and  of  course  repenting,  which  ensures  his 
salvation."    J.  H.  takes  to  to  be=in  addition  to  (cf.  iv.  2.  334  above),  and 
paraphrases  the  line  thus :  "  And  make  it  a  dread  to  them,  along  with 
any  advantage  they  may  have  gained  by  it."     The  passage  may  be  cor- 
rupt, but  the  emendations  seem  to  us  less  intelligible  than  the  original 
text.     Theo.  changes  dread  it  to  "dreaded;"  the  Coll.  MS.  has  "make 
men  dread  it ;"  and  Sr.  (2d  ed.)  reads  "dreaded,  to  the  doers'  shrift." 

23.  Weeds.  Garments  ;  as  in  M.  N.  D.  ii.  2.  71 :  "  Weeds  of  Athens  he 
doth  wear,"  etc.  Suit  myself—  dress  myself;  as  in  A.  Y.  L.  i.  3.  118: 
"suit  me  all  points  like  a  man,"  etc. 

26.  For  whom  my  life,  etc.  "  One  of  Shakespeare's  paradoxically  and 
powerfully  expressed  sentences ;  the  paradoxical  phraseology  aiding  to 
make  the  powerful  effect  the  more  striking.  Intense  is  the  expression 
thus  produced  of  the  ever-living  agony  that  pierces  the  husband's  re- 
morse-stricken heart,  and  stabs  him  with  perpetual  regret  for.  his  loss  of 
her  whose  excellence  he  involuntarily  recognizes.  This  survival  of  Post- 
humus's  sense  of  Imogen's  true  worth  over  his  sense  of  her  supposed 
fault  is  precisely  one  of  Shakespeare's  subtleties  in  indirect  tribute  to 
virtue  and  innocence  "  (Clarke). 

30.  Habits.  Dress;  or  perhaps^  out  ward  appearance,  in  a  more  gen- 
eral sense. 


ACT  V.     SCENES  II.  AND  II L  213 

-  32.  The  guise  o1  the  world.     The  way  or  fashion  of  the  world,  which  is 
to  make  the  most  of  the  outward  show,  to  seem  better  than  one  really  is. 

SCENE  II. — 4.  Carl.  Churl,  peasant;  the  only  instance  of  the  word 
in  S.  Cf.  carlot  in  A.  Y.  L.  in.  5. 108. 

5.  Nature's.    "Natures"  in  the  folios;  changed  to  "nature"  by  Pope. 

10.  Is.     Cf.  Cor.  iii.  I.  245  :  "  't  is  odds  beyond  arithmetic,"  etc.     On 
the  other  hand,  we  find  "  these  odds  "  in  M.for  M.  iii.  I.  41. 

1 6.  As.     As  if.     Cf.  iv.  2.  51  above. 

SCENE  III. — 4.  The  heavens  fought.     Steevens  quotes  Judges,  v.  20. 

The  king  himself,  etc.  S.  found  this  incident  in  Holinshed's  Scotland, 
where  it  is  told  of  the  Hays,  father  and  two  sons.  This  is  evident  from 
the  following  coincidence  in  phraseology :  "  Hay,  beholding  the  king, 
with  the  most  part  of  the  nobles,  fighting  with  great  valiancy  in  the  mid- 
dle ward,  now  destitute  of  the  wings"  etc.  The  scene  of  the  fight  is, 
moreover,  "  a  long  lane  fenced  on  the  side  with  ditches  and  walls  made  of 
turf." 

7.  Full-hearted.     Full  of  courage  and  confidence. 

1 1.  That.     So  that.     Gr.  283.    Cf.  35  below. 

15.  Ancient.     Aged.     Cf.  W.  T.  p.  189. 

1 6.  Who  deserved,  etc.     Who  deserved  as  long  a  life  as  his  white  beard 
indicated. 

20.  Base.  The  game  called  "  prison-base,"  in  which  he  who  runs  the 
fastest  is  the  winner.  Cf.  V.  and  A.  303  :  "  To  bid  the  wind  a  base  he 
now  prepares  "  (that  is,  challenges  the  wind  to  run  a  race) ;  and  T.  G.  of 
V.  i.  2.  97  :  "  Indeed,  I  bid  the  base  for  Proteus  "  (where  there  is  a  play 
•upon  the  word).  Steevens  quotes  Drayton,  Polyolbion :  "  At  hood-wink, 
barley-brake,  at  tick,  or  prison-base;  and  The  Antipodes,  1638:  "my 
men  can  run  at  base."  See  also  Spenser,  Shep.  Kal.  Oct.  5 :  "In  rymes, 
in  ridles,  and  in  bydding  base." 

22.  Shame.  Modesty ;  the  "bashful  shame"  of  V.andA.  49.  Cas'*d= 
masked,  covered. 

26.  Will  give  you  that,  etc.  "  Will  give  you  that  death  like  beasts, 
which  you  shun  like  beasts,  and  which  you  might  save  yourselves  from, 
only  by  looking  back  with  a  bold  frown  of  defiance"  (Clarke).  For 
beastly,  cf.  iii.  3. 40  above. 

29.  Three  thousand  confident.    Three  thousand  in  confidence  or  courage* 

32.  More  charming.  Charming  others  ;  that  is,  influencing  them  as  by 
enchantment.  Cf.  i.  3.  35  above. 

35.  That.     So  that;  as  in  n  above. 

37.  Can.     Began.     See  on  ii.  3.  18  above. 

40.  Retire.  Retreat.  Cf.  K.  John,  ii.  I.  326  :  "  the  onset  and  retire  ;" 
Id.  v.  5.  4 :  "  In  faint  retire,"  etc. 

42.  Stooped.     The  folios  have  "  stopt ;"  corrected  by  Rowe. 

43.  The  strides  they  victors  made.     That  is,  retracing  as  slaves  the  on- 
ward strides  they  had  made  as  victors.     The  folios  misprint  "  the  "  for 
they  ;  corrected  by  Theo. 

44.  Fragments.     Doubtless  referring  to  the  last  remnants  of  food  on 


214 


NOTES. 


board.  J.  H.  explains  it  as  "  spars  and  other  pieces  of  timber  ;"  as  if 
hard  voyage  meant  a  shipwreck  and  not  merely  a  voyage  prolonged  by 
bad  weather  or  other  difficulties. 

49.  Slaughter  -  man.     Cf.  Hen.  V.  iii.  3.  41:  "Herod's  bloody-hunting 
slaughter-men."     See  also  I  Hen.  VI.  iii.  3.  75,  3  Hen.  VI.  i.  4.  169,  etc. 

50.  Or  ere.     Sooner  than.     See  on  iii.  2.  64  above. 

51.  Mortal  bugs.     Deadly  bugbears.     Cf.  Ham.v.  2.  22:  "such  bugs 
and  goblins  ;"  and  see  our  ed.  p.  267. 

53.  Do  not  wonder,  etc.  "  Posthumus  first  bids  him  not  wonder,  then 
tells  him  in  another  mode  of  reproach  that  wonder  is  all  that  he  was 
made  for"  (Johnson).  Theo.  changed  not  to  "but,"  and  St.  conjectures 
"  Ay,  do  but,"  etc. 

60.  Stand.     Face,  withstand.     Cf.  i.  2.  13  above. 

64.  Still  going?  Running  away  from  me  also?  "Said  in  contemptu- 
ous allusion  to  his  having  *  come  from  the  fliers,"1  and  to  his  being  one 
that  will  '  quicklyy^/'  a  poor-looking  man's  friendship"  (Clarke). 

This  is  a  lord!  Ritson  conjectured  "This  a  lord  !"  Noble  misery  is 
=  miserable  nobility. 

68.  Charm1  d.     Protected  as  by  a  charm,  or  bearing  "a  charmed  life" 


72.  Moe.  See  on  iii.  i.  36  above.  The  3d  folio  has  "more." 
74.  To  the  Briton.  Hanmer  changed  Briton  to  "  Roman  ;"  but  now  is 
=just  now,  and  No  more  a  Briton  is  opposed  to  the  preceding  clause  : 
Having  been  on  the  side  of  the  Briton,  but  no  longer  a  Briton,  I  have 
resumed,  etc.  V.  says  :  "  In  the  original  reading  I  understand  Posthu- 
mus as  continuing  his  figurative  search  of  Death.  As  a  Briton,  he  could 
not  find  Death  where  he  'did  hear  him  groan,'  etc.  But  he  'will  find 
him,'  for  he  (Death)  is  now  a  favourer  of  the  Britons,  and  therefore  Post- 
humus,  '  no  more  a  Briton,'  resumes  again  his  Roman  character,  in  order 
thus  to  reach  his  wished-for  death."  This  explanation  is  due  to  Capell, 
but  we  cannot  accept  it. 

78.  Once  touch  my  shoulder.     In  token  of  arrest.     Cf.  shoulder-clapper 
=  bailiff,  in  C.  of  E.  iv.  2.  37,  and  see  our  ed.  p.  136. 

79.  Answer.     Reprisal,  retaliation. 

86.  Silly.    Simple,  rustic.    Malone  quotes  the  novel  on  which  the  play 
is  founded  as  it  appears  in  the  translation  of  the  Decamerone,  1620:  "The 
servant,  who  had  no  great  good  will  to  kill  her,  very  easily  grew  pitifull, 
took  off  her  upper  garment,  and  gave  her  a  poore  ragged  doublet,  a  silly 
chapperone  "  [hood],  etc. 

87.  Gave  the  affront.     Faced  or  confronted  the  enemy.     Cf.  affront  in 
iv.  3.  29  above.     The  noun  occurs  nowhere  else  in  S. 

90.  Seconds.     Others  to  second  or  aid  him.     Cf.  Cor.  \.  4.  43  :  "now 
prove  good  seconds  ;"  and  Id.  i.  8.  15  : 

"  Officious  and  not  valiant,  you  have  sham'd  me 
In  your  condemned  seconds." 

91.  Had  answered  him.     Had  done  like  him. 

SCENE  IV.  —  i.  You  shall  not  ncnv  be  stoVn,  etc.    "  The  wit  of  the  gaoler 


ACT  V.    SCENE  IV.  2I5 

alludes  to  the  custom  of  putting  a  lock  on  a  horse's  leg  when  he  is  turned 
to  pasture  "  (Johnson). 

10.  The  penitent  instrument,  etc.  The  penitential  means  of  freeing  my 
conscience  of  its  guilt. 

14.  I  cannot  do  it  better,  etc.  This  passage  has  been  a  stumbling-block 
to  the  commentators,  but  Dr.  Ingleby's  explanation  (Shakes.  Hermeneutics, 
p.  100)  seems  to  us  perfectly  satisfactory.  He  says  :  "  Posthumus  re- 
joices in  his  bodily  thraldom,  because  its  issue  will  be  death,  which  will 
set  him  free  :  certainly  from  bodily  bondage,  and  possibly  from  spiritual 
bondage — the  worse  of  the  twain.  So  he  prays  for  *  the  penitent  instru- 
ment to  pick  that  bolt,'  the  bolt  which  fetters  his  conscience  worse  than 
the  cold  gyves  constrain  his  shanks  and  wrists  :  that  is,  for  the  means  of 
a  repentance  which  may  be  efficacious  for  pardon  and  absolution.  He 
then  enters  into  these  means  in  detail,  following  the  order  of  the  old 
Churchmen:  namely,  sorrow  for  sin,  or  attrition:  'Is  't  enough  I  am 
sorry  ?'  etc. :  then  penance,  which  was  held  to  convert  attrition  into  con- 
trition :  *  Must  I  repent  ?'  etc.  :  then  satisfaction  for  the  wrong  done.  As 
to  this  last  he  says,  if  the  main  condition  of  his  spiritual  freedom  be  that 
(*  To  satisfy '),  let  not  the  gods  with  that  object  require  a  stricter  render 
than  his  all — his  life.  These  are  the  three  parts  of  absolution.  The 
third  he  expands  in  the  last  clause.  He  owns  that  his  debt  exceeds  his 
all.  He  says,  in  effect :  *  Do  not  call  me  to  a  stricter  account  than  the 
forfeiture  of  my  all  towards  payment.  Take  my  all,  and  give  me  a  re- 
ceipt, not  on  account,  but  in  full  of  all  demands.  Earthly  creditors  take 
of  their  debtors  a  fraction  of  their  debt  and  less  than  their  all,  "  letting 
them  thrive  again  on  their  abatement;"  but  I  do  not  desire  that  indul- 
gence of  your  clemency.  Take  life  for  life — my  all :  and  though  it  is  not 
worth  so  much  as  Imogen's,  yet 't  is  a  life,  and  of  the  same  divine  origin ; 
a  coin  from  the  same  mint.  Between  man  and  man  light  pieces  are  cur- 
rent for  the  sake  of  the  figure  stamped  upon  them :  so  much  the  rather 
should  the  gods  take  my  life,  which  is  in  their  own  image,  though  it  is 
not  so  dear,  or  precious,  as  Imogen's.' 

"  The  old  writers  compared  the  hindrances  of  the  body  to  gyves.  So 
Walkington  in  the  Optick  Glasse  of  Humors,  1607  :  '  Our  bodies  were  the 
prisons  and  bridewils  of  our  soules,  wherein  they  lay  manicled  and  fet- 
tered in  Gives,'  etc.  And  when  Posthumus  says  *  Cancel  these  cold 
bonds,'  he  means  free  the  soul  from  the  body,  as  in  Macb.  iii.  2.  49  : 

'  Cancel  and  tear  to  pieces  that  great  bond 
Which  keeps  me  pale ! ' 

(where  Mr.  Staunton  plausibly  reads  paled] ;  but  the  epithet  cold  has 
reference  to  the  material  gyves,  which  were  of  iron.  Cf.  The  Two  Noble 
Kinsmen,  iii.  I,  where  Palamon  says  '  Quit  me  of  these  cold  gyves ' — that 
is,  knock  off  my  fetters." 

30.  Solemn  music,  etc.  Pope,  who  put  30-201  in  the  margin  as  spuri- 
ous, remarks  :  "  Here  follow  a  vision,  a  masque,  and  a  prophecy,  which 
interrupt  the  fable  without  the  least  necessity,  and  unmeasurably  lengthen 
this  act.  I  think  it  plainly  foisted  in  afterwards  for  mere  show,  and  ap- 
parently not  of  Shakespeare."  Malone  calls  it  "  contemptible  nonsense," 


2i6  NOTES. 

and  Ritson  considers  the  margin  "  too  honourable  a  place  for  so  imper- 
tinent an  interpolation."  The  editors  and  critics,  almost  without  excep- 
tion (see  p.  1 1  above),  have  been  of  the  same  opinion.  Schlegel  remarks  : 
"  Steevens  accedes  to  the  opinion  of  Pope  respecting  the  apparition  of 
the  ghosts  and  of  Jupiter  in  Cymbeline,  while  Posthumus  is  sleeping  in 
the  dungeon.  But  Posthumus  finds,  on  waking,  a  tablet  on  his  breast, 
with  a  prophecy  on  which  the  denouement  of  the  piece  depends.  Is  it 
to  be  imagined  that  Shakspeare  would  require  of  his  spectators  the  be- 
lief in  a  wonder  without  a  visible  cause  ?  Is  Posthumus  to  dream  this 
tablet  with  the  prophecy?  But  these  gentlemen  do  not  descend  to  this 
objection.  The  verses  which  the  apparitions  deliver  do  not  appear  to 
them  good  enough  to  be  Shakspeare's.  I  imagine  I  can  discover  why 
the  poet  has  not  given  them  more  of  the  splendour  of  diction.  They  are 
the  aged  parents  and  brothers  of  Posthumus,  who,  from  concern  for  his 
fate,  return  from  the  world  below  :  they  ought,  consequently,  to  speak 
the  language  of  a  more  simple  olden  time,  and  their  voices  ought  also  to 
appear  as  a  feeble  sound  of  wailing,  when  contrasted  with  the  thunder- 
ing oracular  language  of  Jupiter.  For  this  reason  Shakspeare  chose  a 
syllabic  measure,  which  was  very  common  before  his  time,  but  which  was 
then  getting  out  of  fashion,  though  it  still  continued  to  be  frequently  used, 
especially  in  translations  of  classical  poets.  In  some  such  manner  might 
the  shades  express  themselves  in  the  then  existing  translations  of  Homer 
and  Virgil.  The  speech  of  Jupiter  is  on  the  other  hand  majestic,  and  in 
form  and  style  bears  a  complete  resemblance  to  the  sonnets  of  Shak- 
speare." But,  as  K.  replies,  the  objection  to  the  passage  is  not  that  its 
language  is  that  of  "  a  more  simple  olden  time,"  but  that  it  is  not  the 
language  of  poetry,  such  as  S.  would  have  chosen  "  to  express  a  feeble 
sound  of  wailing." 

38.  Attending.     Awaiting. 

43.  Lucina.  The  goddess  who  assisted  women  in  labour.  Cf.  Per.  i. 
I.  8,  iii.  i.  10. 

45.  That.  So  that.  See  on  v.  3.  1 1  above.  On  the  passage,  cf.  Macb. 
v.  8.  1 6. 

60.  Leonati  seat.  Cf.  J.  C.  v.  5.  19  :  "  Philippi  fields;"  T.  of  S.  ii.  i. 
369  :  "  Pisa  walls,"  etc.  Gr.  22. 

67.  And  to  become,  etc.  And  suffer  Posthumus  to  become,  etc.  Geck= 
dupe ;  as  in  T.  N.  v.  i.  351  :  "And  made  the  most  notorious  geek  and 
gull,"  etc. 

75.  Hardiment.  "  Hard  fighting,  valorous  service "  (Clarke).  Cf. 
I  Hen.  IV.  p.  152,  note  on  Changing  har dim ent. 

78.  Adjourned.     Delayed,  deferred. 

89.  Synod.  The  word  refers  to  an  assembly  of  the  gods  in  five  out  of 
six  instances  in  which  S.  uses  it.  See  A.  Y.  L.  p.  173,  note  on  Heavenly 
synod. 

102.  Delighted.  Delightful ;  as  in  Oth.  \.  3.  290  :  "  If  virtue  no  de- 
lighted beauty  lack."  See  Gr.  294,  374. 

105.  Jovial.     See  on  iv.  2.  312  above. 

116.  As.  As  if.  Cf.  iv.  2.  51  and  v.  2.  16  above.  Foot  us  =  se\ze  us  in 
his  talons. 


ACT  V.    SCENE   V.  2Iy 

1 1 8.  Prunes.  That  is,  picks  off  the  loose  feathers,  to  smooth  the  rest. 
See  i  Hen.  IV.  p.  142. 

Cloys.  Claws,  or  strokes  with  his  claws ;  "  an  accustomed  action  with 
hawks  and  eagles"  (Steevens). 

125.  Scorn.     Mockery. 

129.  Swerve.     Err. 

133.  Book.     The  tablet  of  109  above. 

134.  Fangled.     "  Gaudy,  vainly  decorated  ;  perhaps  the  only  instance 
in  which  the  word  occurs  without  new  being  prefixed  to  it "  (Malone). 

138.  Whenas.     When.     Cf.  C.  of  E.  p.  142. 

145.  Tongue  and  brain  not.  Speak  without  understanding.  Cf.  M. 
for  M.  iv.  4.  28  :  "  How  might  she  tongue  me  !"  S.  does  not  use  brain 
elsewhere  as  a  verb,  except  in  the  sense  of  beat  out  the  brains. 

147.  Be  what  it  is.     Be  it  what  it  may.     Gr.  404. 

148.  Action.     Course. 

155.  The  shot.  Cf.  Falstaff's  play  upon  the  word  in  I  Hen.  IV.  v.  3. 
31 :  "  Though  I  could  scape  shot-free  at  London,  I  fear  the  shot  here." 

158.  Often.  Some  one  has  conjectured  "as  often,"  but  the  ellipsis  is 
a  common  one.  See  Gr.  276. 

161.  Are  paid.  With  a  play  on  the  sense  of  punished.  Cf.  iv.  2.  247 
above. 

163.  Drawn.  Drawn  dry,  emptied.  The  metaphor  is  probably  taken 
from  drawing  off  the  contents  of  a  cask,  not  from  removing  the  entrails 
of  a  fowl,  as  Steevens  makes  it. 

166.  Debitor  and  creditor.     An  account  book  (Johnson  and  Schmidt). 
Delius  hyphens  the  words,  which  formed  the  title  of  certain  old  treatises 
on  book-keeping.     Cf.  Oth.  p.  156. 

167.  Counters.    Round  pieces  of  metal  used  in  calculations.    Cf.  W.  T. 
iv-  3-  38 :  "I  cannot  do  't  without  counters."     See  also  A.  Y.  L.  p.  164 ; 
and  cf.  Oth.  p.  156,  note  on  Counter-caster. 

176.  So  pictured.     Being  represented  as  a  skeleton. 

177.  Or  take.     The  folios  have  "  or  to  take  ;"  corrected  by  Capell. 

178.  Jump.    Risk,  hazard.    Cf.  Macb.  \.  7.  7  :  "jump  the  life  to  come." 
See  also  Cor.  p.  239. 

179.  How  you  shall  speed.     How  you  shall  fare,  what  luck  you  shall 
have  ;  as  in  T.  of  S.  ii.  i.  283,  K.  John,  iv.  2.  141,  etc. 

182.  Wink.     Shut  their  eyes.     See  on  ii.  3.  21  above. 
195.  Prone.     That  is,  eager  for  the  gallows. 

200.  Gallowses.     Doubtless  intended  as  a  vulgar  plural.     Elsewhere 
we  find  gallows;   as  in  I  Hen.  IV.  ii.  i.  74:    "a  fat  pair  of  gallows," 
etc. 

201.  Hath  a  preferment  in  V.     Apparently  =  hath  the  prospect  of  pro- 
motion in  it ;  that  is,  in  a  better  state  of  society  he  would  probably  have 
a  better  office  than  that  of  gaoler. 

SCENE  V. — 2.  Woe  is  my  heart.  That  is,  to  my  heart.  Cf.  "  woe  is 
me  "  in  Ham.  iii.  i.  168,  etc. 

5.  Targes.  Targets,  shields.  Cf.  Z.  Z.  Z.  v.  2.  556 :  "  with  targe  and 
shield,"  etc.  Here  the  word  is  a  monosyllable.  See  Gr.  471.  For 


2I8T  NOTES. 

proof—  resisting  power  (a  technical  term  with  reference  to  armour),  cf. 
Rich.  II.  p.  162. 

II.  Searched.     Sought. 

13.  The  heir  of  his  reward.  That  is,  the  reward  meant  for  him  re- 
verts to  me. 

27.  Who.     Changed  to  "  Whom  "  in  the  2d  folio.     Cf.  iv.  2.  77  above. 

28.  Consider.     Remember,  bear  in  mind. 

30.  How  ended  she  ?  For  *;/*/= die,  cf.  T.  N.  ii.  I.  22,  2  Hen.  IV.  iv.  5. 
80,  Hen.  VIII.  v.  i.  20,  etc. 

38.  A/ected.     Loved ;  as  in  T.  G.  of  V.  iii.  I.  82 : 

"  There  is  a  lady  in  Verona  here 
Whom  I  affect,"  etc. 

43.  Bore  in  hand.  Pretended.  Cf.  Macb.  iii.  I.  80  :  "  How  you  were 
borne  in  hand  "  (flattered  with  false  hopes) ;  and  see  our  ed.  p.  208. 

47.  Delicate.  Explained  by  Schmidt  as  "  ingenious,  artful ;"  but  it  is 
probably = lovely  (cf.  63  below),  and  put  in  strong  antithesis  to  fend.  Cf. 
R.  and  J.  iii.  2.  75  :  "  fiend  angelical !" 

50.  Mortal  mineral.  Deadly  poison.  Cf.  Oth.  ii.  i.  306:  "like  a  poi- 
sonous mineral,"  etc.  W.  remarks :  "  There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the 
slow  poisons  of  the  i6th  and  I7th  centuries  were  all  preparations  of 
white  arsenic,  the  mortal  mineral  still  most  effectual  for  the  poisoner's 
purposes."  For  took)  cf.  iii.  6.  48  above. 

54.  And  in  time.     The  2d  folio  has  "  yes  and  in  time."     Walker  con- 
jectures "  and  in  due  time,"  and  Jervis  "  and  so  in  time." 

55.  Fitted  you.     Prepared  you,  got  you  into  a  fit  frame  of  mind. 

58.  Shameless  -  desperate.  For  compound  adjectives  in  S.,  see  Gr.  2. 
The  hyphen  was  first  inserted  by  Capell.  Operfd= disclosed,  revealed. 

62.  Mine  eyes.     Hanmer  reads  "  Yet  mine  eyes." 

64.  Heard.    The  reading  of  the  3d  folio  ;  the  ist  and  2d  have  "  heare." 

70.  Raz'd.     The  folios  have  "  rac'd ;"  corrected  by  Theo. 

74.  Estate.     State,  condition.     See  M.  of  V.  p.  151. 

80.  Sufficeth.  It  suffices.  For  the  ellipsis,  cf.  T.  of  S.  i.  I.  252,  iii.  2. 
108,  2  Hen.  VI.  iv.  10.  24,  etc.  Gr.  404. 

83.  Peculiar.  Personal ;  as  in  Ham.  iii.  3.  n  :  "The  single  and  pe- 
culiar life  ;"  Oth.  i.  i.  60  :  "  for  my  peculiar  end,"  etc. 

87.  Over  his  occasions.     H.  thinks  this  is  =  "  beyond  what  the  occasions 
required  ;"  but  it  may  mean  in  regard  to  what  was  required.     Cf.  W.  T. 
ii.  3.  128  :  "tender  o'er  his  follies."     Schmidt  strangely  explains  it :  "so 
nicely  sensible  of  his  wants." 

88.  Feat.    "  Ready,  dexterous  in  waiting  "  (Johnson).    Cf.  Temp.  p.  120, 
note  on  Foot  it  featly.     See  also  on  the  verb,  in  i.  i.  49  above. 

Clarke  remarks  :  "  This  gentle  adaptation  of  herself  and  her  womanly 
accomplishments  to  her  assumed  office  of  page  crowns  the  perfection  of 
Imogen's  character.  Her  power,  too,  of  attracting  and  attaching  all  who 
come  near  her — her  father,  who  loves  her  in  spite  of  the  harshness  he 
has  shown  her  under  the  influence  of  his  fiendish  queen ;  her  husband 
who  has  been  her  *  play-fellow '  when  a  boy,  and  her  lover  in  manhood, 
even  after  her  supposed  death  ;  her  faithful  servant,  Pisanio  ;  her  broth- 


ACT  V.    SCENE   V.  2I9 

ers,  who  know  her  but  as  a  poor,  homeless  boy;  Belarius,  whose  sym- 
pathy for  the  sick  youth  makes  the  way  forth  seem  tedious  ;  and  Lucius, 
who  pleads  for  the  gentle  lad's  life  with  so  earnest  a  warmth,  while  bear- 
ing so  affectionate  a  testimony  to  his  qualities  as  a  page — this  power  of 
hers  speaks  indirectly,  but  indisputably,  in  testimony  of  her  bewitching 
nature." 

93.  Favour.     Face.     See  on  i.  6.  41  above. 

94.  Looked  thyself  into  my  grace.     Won  my  favour  by  thy  looks. 

95.  Nor  wherefore.     The  nor,  omitted  in  the  folios,  was  supplied  by 
Rowe. 

103.  A  thing,  etc.     "  The  ring  on  lachimo's  finger  "  (J.  H.). 

119.  Walk  with  me.     Withdraw  with  me.     See  on  i.  1. 176  above. 

120.  One  sand  another,  etc.     This  has  been  suspected  of  corruption, 
but  it  is  probably  only  one  of  the  many  elliptical  constructions  in  the 
play.     Hanmer  reads : 

"  One  sand 

Another  doth  not  more  resemble  than 
He  the  sweet  rosy  lad  who  died,  and  was 
Fidele ;» 
and  Capell :  «  One  sand 

Another  not  resembles  more  than  he 

That  sweet  and  rosy  lad  who  died,  and  was 

Fidele." 

Johnson  put  a  period  after  resembles.  K.,  D.,  W.,  the  Camb.  ed.,  Clarke, 
and  others  retain  the  old  text. 

126.  Saw.     The  folios  have  "see  ;"  corrected  by  Rowe. 

135.  Render.     State,  tell.     Cf.  ii.  4.  119  above. 

143.  Jewel.     See  on  i.  4.  142  above. 

145.  Sir.     See  on  i.  6.  159  above. 

154.  Struck.  The  folios  have  "strooke"  or  "strook,"  as  in  many 
other  passages  ;  oftener  than  struck,  which  Rowe  substituted  here. 

1 60.  Rarest.     See  on  i.  I.  96  above. 

Sitting  sadly,  etc.  This  does  not  exactly  agree  with  the  circumstances 
as  they  appear  in  i.  4  above ;  but  such  variations  are  not  uncommon  in 
S.  "  In  the  present  case,"  as  Clarke  remarks,  "  he  may  either  have 
made  it  to  give  the  effect  of  that  inaccuracy  of  memory  which  often 
marks  the  narration  of  a  past  occurrence  even  in  persons  habitually 
truthful,  or  in  order  to  denote  lachimo's  innate  untruthfulness  and  un- 
scrupulousness,  which  lead  him  to  falsify  in  minor  matters  as  in  those  of 
greater  moment." 

163.  Feature.     Shape,  figure  ;  as  often.     Cf.  T.  G.  of  V.  ii.  4.  73  :  "  He 
is  complete  in  feature  and  in  mind,"  etc.     Laming—  making  seem  lame 
or  deformed. 

164.  Shrine.     Image,  statue.     Cf.  M.  of  V.  ii.  7.  40  :    "  To  kiss  this 
shrine,  this  mortal-breathing  saint."    See  also  R.  of  L.  194  and  R.  and  J. 
\.  5.  96. 

Straight-pight.  Straight-fixed,  erect.  Cf.  pig/it  (-fixed,  in  a  figura- 
tive sense)  in  Lear,  ii.  i.  67  ;  and  see  our  ed.  p.  197. 

165.  Postures  beyond  brief  nattire.     "  Postures  of  beings  that  are  im- 
mortal "  (J.  H.). 


220  NOTES. 

Condition—  disposition,  character.  Cf.  M.  of  V.  i.  2.  143  :  "  the  condi- 
tion of  a  saint,  and  the  complexion  of  a  devil,"  etc. 

1 66.  Shop.     Storehouse. 

172.  Lover.  For  the  feminine  use,  cf.  T.  G.  of  V.  i.  I.  116,  A.  Y.  L.  iii. 
4.  46,  A.  and  C.  iv.  14.  101,  etc. 

177.  Were  cracked  of  kitchen-trulls.     Were  made  in  praise  of  mere 
kitchen -wenches.      Crack  was   sometimes  ^bluster,  swagger.      Cf.  the 
noun  in  K.  John,  ii.  I.  147 :   "  What  cracker  is  this  same  that  deafs  our 
ears,"  etc. ;  and  see  our  ed.  p.  143. 

178.  Unspeaking  sots.     Fools  incapable  of  speech.     For  sots,  cf.  Temp. 
p.  132,  or  C.  of  E.  p.  123. 

1 80.  As.     As  if.     See  on  v.  4.  116  above. 

182.  Made  scruple.  Expressed  doubt.  Cf.  the  play  on  scritple  in 
2  Hen.  IV.  \.  2.  149  :  "  the  wise  may  make  some  dram  of  a  scruple,  or 
indeed  a  scruple  itself." 

190.  Of  Phoebus'*  wheel.     Cf.  A.  and  C.  iv.  8.  28  : 

"He  has  deserv'd  it,  were  it  carbuncled 
Like  holy  Phoebus'  car." 

193.  Taught  of.     Cf.  Isa.  liv.  13,  John,  vi.  45,  I  Thess.  iv.  9,  etc. 

197.  Can.     See  on  ii.  3.  18  and  v.  3.  37  above. 

198.  Vantage.     Advantage.     See  K.  John,  p.  150. 

199.  Practice.    Artifice,  stratagem.    Cf.  Ham.  p.  255,  or  A.  K  L.  p.  156. 

200.  Simular.     Counterfeited,  false.     Cf.  Lear,  iii.  2.  54  :  "  Thou  per- 
jur'd  and  thou  simular  of  virtue ;"  where  the  quartos  have  "  simular 
man." 

203.  Averring.     Alleging.     Some  make  it  an  adjective = confirmatory. 

205.  It.     Omitted  in  the  1st  folio. 

206.  That.     So  that.     See  on  v.  3.  1 1  above. 

207.  Crack? d.     Broken  ;  as  in  i.  3.  17,  and  iii.  I.  28  above. 

214.  Justicer.  Judge  ;  as  in  Lear,  iii.  6.  59  :  "  False  justicer,  why  hast 
thou  let  her  scape  ?"  See  our  ed.  p.  226.  Steevens  quotes  Law  Tricks, 
1608  :  "  No  ;  we  must  have  an  upright  justicer  ;"  and  Warner,  Albions 
England,  1602  :  "  a  justicer  upright." 

216.  Amend.  Improve  upon,  surpass;  or  perhaps  =  " make  to  seem 
less  vile  "  (J.  H.). 

221.  And  she  herself.     "  That  is,  she  was  not  only  the  temple  of  Vir- 
tue, but  Virtue  herself"  (Johnson). 

222.  Spit.     The  2d  and  3d  folios  have  "  spet,"  for  which  see  M.  of  V. 

P-  135- 

223.  Bay  me.     Bark  at  me.     Cf.  J.  C.  iv.  3.  27  :    "I  had  rather  be  a 
dog,  and  bay  the  moon,"  etc.     The  3d  and  4th  folios  have  "bait." 

228.  Shall  Js.     See  on  iv.  2.  234  above. 

229.  There  lie  thy  part.     Play  thy  part  by  lying  there. 

233.  Comes.  The  folio  reading ;  changed  by  Rowe  to  "  come."  See 
on  iii.  4.  140  above. 

These  staggers  — "t\i\s  wild  and  delirious  perturbation"  (Johnson). 

238.  Tune.  Voice,  accent.  Cf.  Sonn.  141.  5  :  "  thy  tongue's  tune ;" 
Cor.  ii.  3.  92  :  "  the  tune  of  your  voices,"  etc. 


ACT  V.     SCENE   V.  22I 

245.  Approve.     Prove  ;  as  in  iv.  2.  381  above. 

249.  Importuned.     Accented  on  the  second  syllable,  as  regularly  in  S. 
Gr.  492. 

250.  Temper.    Compound,  mix  ;  used  vi poisons  in  Much  Ado,  ii.  2.  21, 
R.  and  J.  iii.  5.  98,  and  Ham.  v.  2.  339. 

259.  Dead.     Insensible,  like  one  dead.     Cf.  Spenser,  F.  Q.  iv.  7.  9  : 

"  For  she,  deare  Ladie,  all  the  way  was  dead 
Whilest  he  in  armes  her  bore  ;  but  when  she  felt 
Her  selfe  downe  soust,  she  waked  out  of  dread,"  etc. 

262.  Think  that  you  are  upon  a  rock.  This  has  perplexed  some  of  the 
critics,  and  sundry  changes  have  been  proposed ;  but  if  we  suppose  that 
Imogen  here  throws  her  arms  about  her  husband's  neck  (according  to 
the  stage-direction  first  inserted  by  Hanmer),  all  is  clear  enough.  Hav- 
ing done  this,  she  says,  "Now  imagine  yourself  on  some  high  rock,  and 
throw  me  from  you  again — if  you  have  the  heart  to  do  it."  This  action 
is  necessary  also  to  explain  the  reply  of  Posthumus,  Hang  there,  etc. 

265.  Mak'st  thou  me  a  dullard,  etc.  "  Do  you  give  me  in  this  scene, 
the  part  only  of  a  looker-on?  S.  was  thinking  of  the  stage"  (St.). 

271.  Naught.  Worthless,  wicked.  See  A.  Y.  L.  p.  142,  or  Rich.  III. 
p.  182. 

Long  of  her.  Because  of  her,  owing  to  her.  Cf.  M.  N.  D.  iii.  2.  339  : 
"  You,  mistress,  all  this  coil  is  long  of  you,"  etc.  Long  is  equivalent  to 
along,  but  not  a  contraction  of  it.  See  Wb. 

274.  Troth.  Truth  ;  as  in  M.  N.  D.  ii.  2.  36  :  "  And  to  speak  troth,  I 
have  forgot  our  way,"  etc.  The  4th  folio  reads  "  truth." 

283.  Enforced.     Got  by  force.     Cf.  iv.  3.  n  above. 

284.  With  unchaste  purpose.      Some  critic  has  objected  that  Cloten 
does  not  tell  his  purpose  while  Pisanio  is  on  the  stage  in  iii.  5  above ;  but 
in  line  149  he  intimates  that  he  intends  to  make  the  latter  a  confidant  of 
his  design,  and  we  may  assume  that  he  does  so  afterwards. 

287.  For/end.     Forbid.     See  Oth.  p.  206. 

292.  Incivil.  Changed  by  Capell  to  "  uncivil ;"  but  S.  uses  incertain, 
ingrateful,  infortunate,  insociable,  etc.,  as  well  as  the  forms  in  un-.  Cf.  Gr. 
442. 

305.  Scar.  The  word  has  been  suspected,  and  "  sense,"  "  score,"  etc., 
have  been  proposed  as  emendations ;  but,  as  Clarke  notes,  the  expres- 
sion is  "  a  very  characteristic  one  for  a  veteran  soldier  to  use,  who  can 
conceive  no  better  claim  to  merit  than  having  plenteous  scars  to  show." 
W.  prints  "  scarre  "  (as  in  the  folio),  which  he  takes  to  be  the  same  ob- 
scure word  that  has  perplexed  the  critics  in  A.  W.  iv.  2.  38. 

308.  Tasting  of.  Testing,  trying.  Cf.  T.  N.  iii.  4.  267  :  "  men  that  put 
quarrels  purposely  on  others,  to  taste  their  valour,"  etc.  See  also  the 
noun  in  2  Hen.  IV.  ii.  3.  52,  Lear,  i.  2.  47,  etc. 

310.  We  will  die  all  three,  etc.  We  will  all  die  if  I  do  not  prove,  etc. 
We  follow  the  pointing  of  the  folio,  as  Clarke  does.  The  editors  gener- 
ally put  a  colon  after  three. 

313.  For  mine  own  part,  etc.  That  is,  dangerous  for  myself.  For  the 
transposition,  see  Gr.  419^.  Cf.  ii.  3.  94  above. 


222  NOTES. 

315.  Have  at  it  then.  Here  's  for  it  then,  I  '11  tell  the  story.  Cf.  IV.  T. 
iv.  4.  302  :  "  Have  at  it  with  you,"  etc. 

319.  Assumed  this  age.  That  is,  assumed  or  acquired  it  with  the  lapse 
of  time.  He  speaks  thus,  as  Henley  suggests,  with  reference  to  the  change 
in  his  appearance  since  Cymbeline  last  saw  him.  Tyrwhitt  wanted  to 
read  "  this  gage." 

323.  Confiscate.  For  the  form,  cf.  C.  of  E.  i.  i.  21,  i.  2.  2,  M.  of  V.  iv.  i. 
311,  332,  etc.  S.  accents  the  word  on  either  the  first  or  second  syllable, 
as  suits  the  measure. 

326.  Prefer.     Promote,  advance.     See  on  ii.  3.  129  above. 

334.  Your  pleasure,  etc.  "  My  crime,  my  punishment,  and  all  the  trea- 
son that  I  have  committed,  originated  in  and  were  founded  on  your 
caprice  only  "  (Malone).  For  mere  the  folios  have  "  neere  "  or  "  near ;" 
corrected  by  Rann  (the  conjecture  of  Tyrwhitt).  Johnson  suggested 
"dear." 

338.  Those  .  .  .  as.     See  Gr.  280. 

344.  Beaten.     My  being  beaten. 

345.  Dear  loss.     Loss  so  deeply  felt.     See  Rich.  II.  p.  164,  or  Temp. 
p.  124. 

346.  Shaped  Unto  my  end.     Shaped  itself  to,  or  suited,  my  purpose. 
349.  Sweetest.     See  on  i.  i.  96  above. 

352.  Thou  weep'st,  and  speak X  etc.  "  Thy  tears  give  testimony  to  the 
sincerity  of  thy  relation ;  and  I  have  the  less  reason  to  be  incredulous 
because  the  actions  which  you  have  done  within  my  knowledge  are  more 
incredible  than  the  story  which  you  relate  "  (Johnson). 

360.  Lapped.     Wrapped.     Cf.  Rich.  III.  ii.  i.  1 15  : 

"  he  did  lap  me 
Even  in  his  garments,"  etc. 

362.  Probation.     Proof,  evidence;  as  in  Ham.  i.  i.  156  : 

"  and  of  the  truth  herein 
The  present  object  made  probation." 

See  also  Oth.  iii.  3.  365,  Macb.  iii.  i.  80,  etc. 

364.  A  mole,  etc.  "  Most  poetically,  as  well  as  with  most  subtle  philo- 
sophical knowledge  of  Nature's  workings  -in  the  matter  of  kindred  and 
inherited  distinctive  marks,  has  S.  given  to  the  prince  brother  an  almost 
precisely  similar  personal  badge-spot  with  the  one  which  lies  upon  the 
snow  of  the  princess  sister's  breast.  Imogen's  *  mole  cinque-spotted, 
like  the  crimson  drops  i'  the  bottom  of  a  cowslip,'  and  Guiderius's  *  mole, 
a  sanguine  star,'  are  twinned  in  beauty  with  a  poet's  imagination  and  a 
naturalist's  truth"  (Clarke).  -Cf.  p.  35  above. 

369.  Mother.     The  object  of  the  verb,  deliverance  being  the  subject. 

370.  Pray.    Needlessly,  not  to  say  badly,  changed  by  Rowe  to  "  may." 
The  elliptical  construction  is  quite  like  many  others  already  noted  in  the 
play. 

371.  Orbs.    Orbits,  or,  more  properly,  the  "  spheres  "  of  the  old  Ptole- 
maic astronomy.    See  I  Hen.  IV.  p.  194,  or  Ham.  p.  254  (note  on  Sphere). 

378.  When  ye.     The  folios  have  "  When  we  ;"  corrected  by  Rowe. 
380.  He  died.     As  Clarke  notes,  the  use  of  the  pronouns  in  this  line 


ACT  V.    SCENE   V.  223 

and  the  next  is  very  natural,  though  Hanmer  tried  to  spoil  it  by  changing 
he  to  "she."  Guiderius  is  so  accustomed  to  think  of  his  sister  as  a  boy 
that,  in  reverting  to  their  experiences  in  the  forest,  he  inadvertently 
speaks  of  her  as  he ;  while  Cornelius,  who  has  known  her  only  in  her 
true  sex,  of  course  calls  her  she. 

381.  Instinct.     For  the  accent,  see  on  iv.  2.  178  above. 

382.  Fierce.    Either^"  vehement,  rapid  "  (Johnson),  or  =  " disordered, 
irregular  "  (Schmidt).    Perhaps  it  combines  the  ideas  of  hurried  and  wild 
or  disordered. 

384.  Distinction  should  be  rich  in.  "  Ought  to  be  rendered  distinct  by 
a  liberal  amplitude  of  narrative"  (Steevens);  or,  a  more  distinct  and  de- 
tailed statement  ought  to  bring  out  fully. 

388.  Your  three  motives.     The  motives  of  you  three. 

392.  Inter1  gatories.     The  folios  have  "  interrogatories ;"  but  the  con- 
tracted form  (for  which  see  M.  of  V.  p.  165,  or  A.  W.  p.  170)  suits  the 
measure  better,  and  was  introduced  by  Malone  at  Tyrwhitt's  suggestion. 

393.  Anchors.     For  the  figure,  cf.  M.for  M.  ii.  4.  3  : 

"Whilst  my  invention,  hearing  not  my  tongue, 
Anchors  on  Isabel." 

395.  Her  master.     That  is,  Lucius. 

396.  The  counter  change,  etc.     This  is  reciprocated  each  by  each. 

405.  Forlorn.     Accented  on  the  first  syllable  before  the  noun,  as  in 
Sonn.  33.  7  and  T.  G.  of  V.  i.  2.  124 ;  but  on  the  last  when  in  the  predi- 
cate, as  in  R.  of  L.  1500,  etc.     Cf.  ii.  I.  55  above. 

406.  Beconi'd.     Changed  by  Warb.  to  "become;"  but  the  form  oc- 
curs also  in  R.  and  J.  iv.  2.  26  and  A.  and  C.  iii.  7.  26.     Cf.  misbecomed  in 
L.  L.  L.  v.  2.  778. 

408.  Company.     The  only  instance  of  the  verb  in  S. 

409.  Beseeming.     Seeming,  appearance.     Fitment = equipment.     The 
former  is  used  by  S.  only  here ;  the  latter  occurs  in  Per.  iv.  6.  6  (not 
Shakespeare's  part  of  the  play),  where  it  is=what  is  fit,  or  duty. 

412.  Alade  you  finish.     Put  an  end  to  you.     Cf.  36  above. 

418.  The  power  that  I  have  on  you.    Cf.  R.  and  J.  v.  3.  93  :  "  Hath  had 
no  power  yet  upon  thy  beauty."     See  also  T.  G.  of  V.  iii.  i.  238,  Macb. 
v-  3-  7>  etc.     Elsewhere  have  power  is  followed  by  in  (Much  Ado,  iv.  I.  75, 
etc.),  by  over  (Rich.  III.  i.  2.  47,  etc.),  and  by  unto  (A.  and  C.  ii.  2.  146, 
etc.). 

419.  Forgive  you.     The  plays  of  Shakespeare's  "  fourth  period  "  (see 
Mr.  FurnivalFs  classification,  A.  Y.  L.  p.  26)  are  "  all  of  reunion,  of  rec- 
onciliation and  forgiveness."     Even  lachimo — "a  kind  of  less  absolutely 
evil  lago,"  as  Dowden  calls  him — repents  in  time  to  share  in  the  general 
pardon. 

422.  Holp.  Used  as  the  past  tense  of  help,  except  in  Rich.  III.  v.  3. 
167  and  Oth.  ii.  i.  138 ;  also  the  common  form  for  the  participle. 

424.  Joy^d.  For  the  transitive  use,  cf.  Rich.  III.  \.  2.  220  and  Per.  i. 
2.9. 

428.  Spritely  shows.     Ghostly  apparitions. 

431.  From.     Away  from,  far  from.     Cf.  i.  4.  14  above. 


224 


NOTES. 


432.  No  collection  of  it.  No  inference  from  it.  S.  uses  collection  else- 
where only  in  Ham.  iv.  5.  9  and  v.  2.  199,  where  the  sense  is  similar. 

435-  Whenas.  When;  as  in  v.  4.  138  above.  W.  considers  that  the 
scroll  and  the  four  following  speeches  are  "  plainly  not  from  Shake- 
speare's pen."  It  is  not  improbable  that  this  part  of  the  scene  was 
"  tinkered  "  to  make  it  jibe  with  the  interpolated  masque  in  v.  4.  Coll. 
suggests  that  both  vision  and  scroll  formed  part  of  an  older  play.  Such 
riddles  were  popular  on  the  earlier  stage. 

_  447.  Mulier.     It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  the  word  is  not  de- 
rived from  mollis  aer. 

448.  This.  Changed  by  Capell  to  "  thy,"  and  by  Keightley  to  "  this 
thy."  Delius  conjectures  "  your."  These  emendations  are  intended  to 
furnish  an  antecedent  for  who  in  the  next  line ;  but  it  is  better  to  assume 
that  who  refers  to  wife,  and  that  there  is  a  change  in  construction  in  were 
clipped,  perhaps  due  to  the  you  in  the  same  line.  Cf.  Gr.  415. 

450.  Clipped.     Clasped,  embraced.     See  on  ii.  3.  132  above. 

453.  Point .  .  .  forth.  Cf.  W.  T.  iv.  4.  572  :  "  The  which  shall  point 
you  forth,"  etc. 

463.  Whom  heavens,  etc.  Another  example  of  confused  construction 
in  a  relative  clause.  See  Gr.  249,  and  cf.  394.  Hers=\isx  son  Cloten. 

468.  Yet  this.  Changed  by  Theo.  and  the  more  recent  editors  (except 
W.)  to  "this  yet,"  the  reading  of  the  3d  folio;  but  the  transposition  of 
yet  is  so  common  in  S.  (cf.  Gr.  76)  that  we  are  not  justified  in  altering 
the  original  text.  See  on  ii.  3.  73  above. 

471.  Herself.     For  the  feminine  eagle,  cf.  Hen.  V.  i.  2.  169  : 

"  For  once  the  eagle  England  being  in  prey, 
To  her  unguarded  nest  the  weasel  Scot 
Comes  sneaking,"  etc. 

480.  Friendly.     For  the  adverbial  use,  cf.  iii.  5.  13  above. 

483.  Set  on.  Like  set  forward  in  478  above,  —march  on.  Cf.  Rich.  II. 
p.  197,  or  Hen.  VIII.  p.  180. 

Did  cease.     For  the  ellipsis  of  the  relative,  see  Gr.  244. 

Johnson  (cf.  p.  15  above)  sums  up  his  estimate  of  Cymbeline  thus  : 
"  This  play  has  many  just  sentiments,  some  natural  dialogues,  and  some 
pleasing  scenes,  but  they  are  obtained  at  the  expense  of  much  incongruity. 
To  remark  the  folly  of  the  fiction,  the  absurdity  of  the  conduct,  the  con- 
fusion of  the  names  and  manners  of  different  times,  and  the  impossibility 
of  the  events  in  any  system  of  life,  were  to  waste  criticism  upon  unresist- 
ing imbecility,  upon  faults  too  evident  for  detection,  and  too  gross  for 
aggravation." 


ADDENDA. 

THE  "  TIME-ANALYSIS  "  OF  THE  PLAY. — We  give  below  the  summing- 
up  of  Mr.  P.  A.  Daniel's  "  time-analysis  "  in  his  valuable  paper  "  On  the 
Times  or  Durations  of  the  Action  of  Shakspere's  Plays  "  (Trans,  of  New 
Shaks.  Soc.  1877-79,  p.  247),  with  a  few  explanatory  extracts  from  the 
preceding  pages  appended  as  foot-notes  : 


ADDENDA.  225 

"  The  time  of  the  drama  includes  twelve  days  represented  on  the  stage; 
with  intervals. 

"  Day    I.  Act  I.  sc.  i.-iii. 

An  Interval.     Posthumus's  journey  to  Rome. 
"       2.  Act  I.  sc.  iv. 

An  Interval.     lachimo's  journey  to  Britain. 
"      3.  Act  I.  sc.  v.*  and  vi.,  Act  II.  sc.  i.  and  part  of  sc.  ii. 
"      4.  Act  II.  sc.  ii.,  in  part,  and  sc.  iii.  [Act  III.  sc.  i.  also  belongs 

to  this  dayt]. 

An  Interval.     lachimo's  return  journey  to  Rome. 
"       5.  Act  II.  sc.  iv.  and  v. 

An  Interval.    Time  for  Posthumus's  letters  from  Rome  to 

arrive  in  Britain. 
[Act  III.  sc.  i.     See  Day  No.  4.] 
"      6.  Act  III.  sc.  ii.  and  iii. 

An  Interval,  including  one  clear  day.    Imogen  and  Pisanio 


journey  to  Wales. 
:IILs      ' 


"       7.  Act  III.  sc.  iv. 

An  Interval,  including  one  clear  day.     Pisanio  returns  to 

Court. 
"      8.  Act  III.  sc.  v.  and  vi. 

[Act  III.  sc.  vii.    In  Rome.    Time,  between  Days  5  and  6.J] 
An  Interval,  including  one  clear  day.     Cloten  journeys  to 

Wales. 
"      9.  Act  IV.  sc.  i.  and  ii. 

An  Interval— -A.  few  days  perhaps. 
"     10.  Act  IV.  sc.  iii. 
"     n.  Act  IV.  sc.  iv. 
"     12.  Act  V.  sc.  i.-v." 

Truest  (p.  175). — Since  the  note  on  this  passage  was  in  type,  it  has  oc- 
curred to  us  that  the  interpretation  there  given  is  confirmed  by  the  fact 
that  Imogen  has  been  reading  the  letter  to  herself  during  the  preceding 

*  "  Another  possible  arrangement  in  time  for  this  sc.  v.  would  be  to  make  it  concur- 
rent with  Day  No.  2  ;  or  again,  it  might  have  a  separate  day  assigned  to  it,  to  be  placed 
in  the  interval  marked  for  lachimo's  journey  to  Britain.  ...  Its  position  as  the  early 
morning  of  Day  3,  '  whiles  yet  the  dew  's  on  ground,'  is,  however,  quite  consistent  with 
my  scheme  of  time." 

t  "Act  III.  sc.  i.  Britain.  Cymbeline  and  his  Court  receive  in  state  Caius  Lucius, 
the  ambassador,  who  comes  to  demand  the  tribute  till  lately  paid  to  Rome.  The  tribute 
is  denied,  and  Lucius  denounces  in  the  Emperor's  name  war  against  Britain.  His  office 
discharged,  he  is  welcomed  to  the  court,  and  bid  '  make  pastime  with  us  a  day  or  two, 
or  longer.'  The  time  of  this  scene  is  so  evidently  that  of  Day  No.  4,  that  I  am  com- 
pelled to  place  it  here  within  brackets,  as  has  been  done  in  other  cases  where  scenes  are 
out  of  their  due  order  as  regards  time." 

i  "Act  III.  sc  vii.  Rome.  Enter  two  Senators  and  Tribunes.  We  learn  that  Lucius 
is  appointed  general  of  the  army  to  be  employed  in  the  war  in  Britain.  This  army  is  to 
consist  of  the  forces  '  remaining  now  in  Gallia,'  supplemented  with  a  levy  of  the  gentry 
of  Rome.  This  scene  is  evidently  out  of  place.  In  any  time-scheme  it  must  come  much 
earlier  in  the  drama.  ...  It  may  be  supposed  to  occupy  part  of  the  interval  I  have 
marked  as  '  Time  for  Posthumus's  letters  from  Rome  to  arrive  in  Britain.'  " 


226  ADDENDA. 

speech  (aside)  of  lachimo.  Having  come  to  the  end  of  it,  she  now  turns 
to  him  and  reads  aloud  the  closing  lines  with  their  reference  to  himself. 
It  was,  moreover,  natural  that  Pisanio  should  first  write  the  loving  mes- 
sages that  would  form  the  substance  of  an  absent  husband's  letter  to  his 
wife,  and  then  close  with  commending  the  bearer  to  her  courtesy.  We 
can  imagine  that  what  Imogen  reads  aloud  was  preceded  by  something 
like  "I  send  you  this  by  my  friend  lachimo,  who  is  going  to  Britain." 

Doing  nothing  for  a  bribe  (p.  191). — Since  this  note  was  written,  we 
see  that  Dr.  Ingleby  (Shakespeare :  the  Man  and  the  Book,  Part  II.  p.  10) 
reads  "badge"  for  bribe.  He  says  :  "Badge  is  one  of  those  very  slight 
and  effective  alterations  of  the  text  which  deserve  the  name  of  emenda- 
tions. The  badge  was  an  ornamental  cognizance  worn  by  the  clients 
and  hangers-on  of  a  great  nobleman  or  courtier,  and  was  valued  as  peo- 
ple now  value  a  blue  or  red  ribbon.  This  felicitous  emendation  was 
due  to  the  sagacity  of  Mr.  A.  E.  Brae."  It  is  certainly  very  plausible, 
and  perhaps  suits  the  context  better  than  bribe. 

On  sharded,  just  above,  Dr.  Ingleby  remarks :  "  Observe  that  when 
Shakespeare  speaks  of  the  crawling  beetle  he  calls  him  sharded,  that  is, 
covered  by  his  shards ;  but  when  he  speaks  of  the  flying  beetle  he  calls 
him  shard-borne,  that  is,  supported  in  air  by  his  outstretched  shards." 

Command  into  obedience,  etc.  (iii.  4.  155). — Dr.  Ingleby  (p.  36)  puts  this 
among  the  instances  in  which  S.  seems  to  say  the  reverse  of  what  he 
means.  He  says  :  "if  she  were  bid  to  *  change  fear  and  niceness  into  a 
waggish  courage,'  she  must  be  bid  to  'change  obedience  into  com- 
mand.' "  But  is  not  Pisanio  thinking  of  her  forgetting  to  be  a  princess 
as  well  as  a  woman,  and  entering  the  service  of  Lucius,  as  he  goes  on  to 
suggest  ? 

Defect  of  judgment,  etc.  (p.  203). — In  writing  the  note  on  this  passage, 
we  overlooked  Dr.  Ingleby's  explanation  (Part  I.  of  the  work  cited 
above,  p.  151),  which  clears  it  up  in  a  simpler  and  better  way.  He  says  : 
"'Defect  of  judgment,'  which  all  commentators  have  taken  to  mean  the 
total  absence  of  judgment,  means  the  defective  use  of  judgment.  They 
were  betrayed  into  this  mistake  by  another :  interpreting  the  phrase 
*  scarce  made  up  to  man '  as  if  it  referred  to  Cloten's  youth  ('  before  he 
arrived  to  man's  estate,' says  Knight),  whereas  Cloten  was  a  middle-aged 
man.  ...  On  the  contrary,  the  phrase  made  up  to  man  signified — in  the 
full  possession  of  a  man's  judgment ;  and  when  it  is  said  that  a  certain 
person  is  'scarce  made  up,'  it  means  that  he  had  not  a  man's  judgment. 
Cloten,  being  scarce  made  up,  took  no  heed  of  terrors  that  roared  loud 
enough  for  men  with  their  wits  about  them,  and  thus  he  braved  dan- 
ger;  for  it  is  the  defective  use  of  judgment  (when  men  have  any)  which 
is  oft  the  cause  of  fear.  Cf.  'defect  of  judgment'  in  Cor.  iv.  7.  39,  and 
'  defects  of  judgment '  in  A.  and  C.  ii.  2.  55."  On  scarce  made  up,  cf. 


INDEX   OF  WORDS   AND   PHRASES 
EXPLAINED. 


absolute  (—certain),  203. 
abuse  (^corrupt),  210. 
abuse  (^deceive),  172,  178, 

196. 

acquainted  of,  178. 
act  (=action),  173. 
action  (—course),  217. 
adjourned  (—delayed),  216. 
admiration  (=wonder),  170, 

176, 207.     e 
adorer,  not  friend,  171. 
adventured     ( =  ventured ), 

179,  196. 

advice(=consideration),  168. 
afeard,  203. 
affected  (=loved),  218. 
affiance,  179. 
affirmation,  171. 
affront  (=confront),  211. 
affront  (noun),  214. 
Afric  (= Africa),  168. 
after  (= afterwards),  181,211. 
after-eye,  169. 
against  all  colour,  188. 
Ajax,  207. 

amazed  (=in  a  maze),  211. 
amend  (=surpass),  220. 
anchors  (figurative),  223. 
ancient  (=aged),  213. 
answer  (=answer  to),  205. 
answer  (=penalty),  211. 
answer  (=reprisal\  214. 
answered  (—done  like),  214. 
ape,  181. 
apparent,  185. 
appears  he  hath  had,  202. 
apprehension,  203. 
approbation  (^proving),  172. 
approve  (=prove),  210,  221. 
approvers,  185. 
Arabian  bird,  175. 
arm  (—take  in  arms),  210. 
arras-figures,  181. 
articles,  172. 
as  ( =as  if),  203,  213,  21 

220. 

as  (=fpr),  178. 
as  (omitted),  204. 


203- 

assumed  this  age,  222. 

cave  (verb),  204. 

3. 

at  heaven's  gate,  181. 

cave-keeper,  209. 

'2,  i  y8, 

at  land,  197. 

century  (^hundred),  210. 

at  point,  187,  199. 

chance  thou  changest  on,  1  73. 

atone,  170. 

change  (=caprice),  187. 

attemptable,  171. 

characters  (^letters),  203. 

attending  (^awaiting),  216. 

characters  (=writing),  188. 

),  216. 

attending  for  a  check,  191. 

charmed,  214. 

r),  17°* 

averring,  220. 

charming,  169,  213. 

avoid  (=  begone),  167. 

check  (=rebuke),  191. 

i. 

cherubins,  186. 

tured  ), 

base  (—prison-base),  213. 

cinque-spotted,  181. 

basilisk,  186. 

circumstances    (  —-details  ), 

n),i68. 

bate  (—abate),  189. 

.185. 

bay  (=bark  at),  220. 

citizen  (=effeminate^,  201. 

3. 

be  what  it  is,  217. 

civil  (—civilized),  199. 

beastly,  192,  213. 

clean  (adverb),  199. 

becomed,  223. 

clip  (^embrace),  184,  224. 

ii. 

benefit  o'  the  wind,  210. 

close  (=secret),  198. 

bent,  to  the,  165. 

clotpoll,  205. 

beseech  your  patience,  168. 

clouted  brogues,  206. 

81,211. 

beseeming  (noun),  223. 

cloy  (=claw),  217. 

best,  you  're,  190,  199. 

cloyed  importantly,  211. 

bestrid,  212. 

cognizance,  186. 

betid,  211. 

collection  (—inference),  224. 

,  211. 

beyond  beyond,  189. 

common-kissing  Titan,  197. 

bloods,  165. 

companion  (—fellow),  180. 

23- 
205. 

bold  (that),  185. 
bondage  (=fidelity),  186. 
bore  in  hand,  218. 

company  (verb),  223. 
comparative  for,  184. 
conclusions  (—  experiments^, 

II. 

bound  (play  upon),  202. 

173. 

14. 

brain  (verb),  217. 

condition     (  =  disposition  ), 

e),  214. 

brands  (=torches),  186. 

220. 

bravely,  180,  186. 

conduct  (=escort),  197. 

bravery  (=defiance),  187. 

confiners,  209. 

202. 

brawns,  209. 

confiscate  (accent),  222. 

bring  (—accompany),  168. 

confounded,  171. 

g),I72- 
0,  221. 

brotherly  (adverb),  204. 
bugs  (=bugbears),  214. 

consequence,  184. 
consider,  218. 

by-peeping,  178. 

consider  (=requite),  182. 

considered  of,  195. 

210. 

calves'  -guts,  182. 

consign  to  thee,  208. 

cap  (^obeisance),  192. 

constant-qualified,  171. 

capon  (play  upon),  180. 

consummation,  209. 

3>  216, 

carl,  213. 

content  thee,  173. 

carnage  (=carrying  off),  197. 

conveyed  (^stolen),  166. 

cased  (—masked),  213. 

convince  (^overcome),  171. 

Cassibelan,  165. 

cordial  (^reviving),  173. 

228  INDEX  OF  WORDS  AND  PHRASES  EXPLAINED. 


counters,  217. 

estate  (=state),  218.     N 

gain  his  colour,  204. 

courages,  185. 

even  (verb),  197. 

gall,  1  66. 

court  (=court  affairs),  198. 

even  before,  199. 

Gallian,  177. 

crack  (=bluster),  220. 

event  (=issue),  197. 

gallowses,  217. 

cracked  (^broken),  169,  220. 

exhibition  (^allowance),  1  78. 

gan,  213,  220. 

crare,  205. 

exile  (accent),  198. 

gave  the  affront,  214. 

crave  to  be  demanded,  210. 

exorciser.  209. 

gave  you  ground  (play  upon), 

crescent  note,  170. 

extend  him,  170. 

169. 

crop  (verb),  175. 

extend  him  within  himself, 

geek,  216. 

cross  the  book,  192. 

165. 

gentle  (=  well  -born),  202. 

curbed    from    enlargement, 

giglot,  187. 

184. 

fail  (noun),  195. 

gins,  1  8  1. 

curious  (—careful),  179. 

fairies  (malignant),  180. 

go  back,  172. 

Cytherea,  180. 

fallen  off  (=revolted),  200. 

go  even,  171. 

false  (verb),  182. 

S)od  wax,  thy  leave  !  189. 

dagger  in  my  mouth,  203. 

fan  (metaphor),  179. 

ordian  knot,  181. 

dead  (—as  if  dead),  221. 

fangled,  217. 

groat  morning,  203. 

dear  loss,  222. 

fast  (=fasted),  210. 

great'  st,  178. 

debitor  and  creditor,  217. 

fatherly  (adverb),  182. 

guise  of  the  world,  213. 

decay  (—  destroy),  173. 

favour  (=beauty),  176. 

deep  (of  swearing),  183. 

favour   (=  personal   appear- 

habits (=dress),  212. 

defect,  203,  226. 

ance),  194,  203,  219. 

hand-fast,  174. 

definite,  176. 

feared,  185. 

hangings,  192. 

delicate,  218. 

fearful  (=full  of  fear),  194. 

happily  (=haply),  201. 

delighted  (^delightful),  216. 
depend  (—impend),  210. 

feat  (adjective),  218. 
feated,  166. 

happy  (=fortunateS  197. 
harder  (=too  hard),  197. 

depending  on  their  brands, 

feature  (=shape),  219. 

hardiment,  216. 

186. 

fedary,  188. 

hardiness,  199. 

desire  my  man's  abode,  177. 

fell  (=cruel),  203. 

hardness  (=hardship),  199. 

desperate  bed,  210. 

fetch  u>  in,  194,  204. 

hark  thee,  173. 

Diana's  rangers,  182. 

fierce,  223. 

have  at  it,  222. 

die  the  death,  203. 

fitment,  223. 

have  with  you  !  212. 

dieter,  203. 

fits  (=befits),  197. 

having  (noun),  169. 

differing  multitudes,  200. 
diminution  of  space,  169. 

fitted  (—prepared),  218. 
fled  forward  168. 

haviour,  193. 
head  (—armed  force',  204. 

disedged,  195. 

fools  are  not  mad  folks,  184. 

heard  no  letter,  211. 

dishonestly  afflicted,  202. 

foot  us,  216. 

Hecuba,  209. 

distinction  should  be  rich  in, 

for  (^because),  204. 

herblets,  209. 

223. 

for  food  (=for  want  of  food), 

hilding,  184. 

divine  (accent),  180,  204. 

I9Q. 

holp,  223. 

doers'  thrift,  to  the,  212. 

for  his  heart,  180. 

home  (adverb),  198,  209. 

doing  nothing  for  a  bribe, 

fore-end,  192. 

how  (=however),  202. 

191,  226. 

forespent,  182. 

howsoe'er,  204. 

doubting  things  go  ill,  177. 

forestall  him  of,  198. 

hunt  (=game),  200. 

dragons  of  the  night,  181. 

fore-thinking,  197. 

huswife,  202. 

drawn  (—emptied),  217. 

forfeiters,  189. 

drawn  to  head,  198. 

forfend,  221. 

I  am  in  heaven,  169. 

drive  us  to  a  render,  211. 

forlorn  (accent),  223. 

I  bid  for  you  as  I  'd  buy,  200. 

drug-damned,  193. 

foundations  (play  upon),  199. 

gnorant,  187. 

dullard,  221. 

fragments,  213. 

mperceiverant.  201. 

during  their  use,  211. 

franchise,  188. 

mperious  (—imperial),  202. 

franklin,  190. 

mportance  (—import),  171. 

each  elder  worse,  212. 

fraught  (noun),  167. 

mportantly,  2  1  1. 

eagle  (feminine),  224. 

fretted  (^embossed),  186. 

mportuned  (accent),  221. 

elected  deer,  195. 

friend  (Clover),  171. 

n  (=into),  200. 

election,  a  true,  169. 

friendly  (adverb),  224. 

n  (-—on).  200. 

empery,  178. 

from  (=away  from),  170,  192, 

'  the  clock's  behalf,  190. 

enchafed,  204. 

223. 

n  their  serving,  197. 

encounter,  169,  200. 

full  of  view,  196. 

n  watch,  194. 

encounter  revolt,  178. 

full-hearted,  213. 

ncivil,  221. 

end  (—die),  218. 

full-winged,  191. 

ngeniovss,  205. 

enforce  (—force),  210,  221. 

fumes,  209. 

njurior.r.,  187,  203. 

entertain  (=employ),  210. 

furnaces  (verb),  177. 

instinct  (accent),  205,  223. 

INDEX  OF  WORDS  AND  PHRASES  EXPLAINED, 


229 


instruct  of,  210. 

make  them  dread  it,  to  the    outsell,  186,  198. 

insultment,  198. 

doers'  thrift,  212.                  j  outstood,  179 

inter  gatories,  223. 

makes  him,  170.                        j  outward  (noun\  161;. 

inward  (noun),  193. 

makes  your  admiration,  1  76. 

o'ergrown,  2  it. 

irregulous,  209. 

mannerly  (adverb),  200. 

over  his  occasions,  218. 

issues  (=acts),  180. 

Mary-buds,  182. 

owe  (=own),  187. 

it  (possessive),  196. 

match  (=compact^,  200. 

matter  (=business),  2  1  1. 

packing,  198. 

jack  (in  bowling),  179. 
Jack-slave,  180. 
jet  (=strut),  190. 

mean  affairs,  189. 
medicinable,  188. 
medicine  (verb\  207. 

paid  (play  upon),  217. 
paid  (^punished),  207. 
paled  in,  187. 

jewel,  172,  184,219. 

Mercurial,  209. 

panged,  195. 

join  his  honour,  165. 

mere  (^absolute),  203. 

pantler,  184. 

journal  (=diurnal),  201. 

mile  (plural),  209. 

parish,  204. 

Jovial,  209,  216. 

mineral  (=poison),  218. 

parted  (^departed),  200. 

joyed  (transitive\  223. 

minion  (=darling),  182. 

partisans  (=halberds),  210. 

jump  (—risk),  217. 

miracle,  202. 

passable,  168. 

justice  r,  220. 

keep  at  utterance,  188. 
keep  house,  190. 

moe,  187,  1  88,  214. 
moiety,  172. 
monument,  as  a,  181. 
mortal  (—  deadly),  170,  214, 

passage  (occurrence),  195. 
peculiar  (=personal),2i8. 
peevish  (=silly),  177. 
perfect  (—assured),  188,204. 

ken,  within  a,  199. 

218. 

perforce,  188. 

kissed  the  jack,  179. 

most  bravest,  209. 

pervert  (—avert),  186. 

kitchen-trulls,  220. 

most  coldest,  181. 

Phcebus'  wheel,  220. 

knowing  (noun),  170,  183. 
known  together,  170. 

most  worthiest,  179. 
motion  (=impulse),  187. 

pickaxes  (=fingers),  210. 
pinch  (=pang),  167. 

laboursome,  197. 

mows  (^grimaces),  176. 
mulier  (derivation^,  224. 

pleaseth  (=if  it  please),  173. 
point  forth,  224. 

lady,  ladies,  woman,  198. 

Mulmucius,  164,  188. 

Posthumus  (accent),  166. 

laming,  219. 

mutest,  178. 

posting  winds,  193. 

lapped,  222. 

postures  beyond  brief  nat- 

lay (=wager),  172. 

naught,  221. 

ure,  2  19. 

leaned  unto,  166. 

nice  (^affected),  187. 

power  of,  201. 

learn'd  (^learned),  188. 

niceness,  196. 

power  on  you,  223. 

learned  (=  taught),  173. 

Nile  (without  article?,  193. 

practice  (^artifice),  220. 

learnings,  rf>6. 

noble  misery,  214. 

prefer  (=recommend),   182, 

leave  (=leave  off),  172,  180, 

none  a,  177." 

2IO. 

Leonati  seat,  216. 

nonpareil,  187. 

preferment,  217. 

Leonatus1,  200. 

north  (=wind),  169. 

preferred  (^promoted),  184, 

let  blood,  204. 

not  (transposed),  179,  211. 

222. 

let  proof  speak,  188. 

note  (^distinction),  170,  175, 

pregnant  (=probable),  209. 

lie  bleeding  in  me,  193. 

184,  192. 

presently,  184. 

liegers,  174. 

note  (=list),  173. 

pretty  and  full  of  view,  196. 

like  (^equally),  192. 

nothing  (adverb  \  166,  171. 

priest  (feminine),  178. 

like  (=please),  182. 

now  (=rjust  now),  214. 

prince  it,  192. 

like  a  crow,  190. 

princely  fellows,  195. 

likely  to  report  themselves, 

odds  (number),  213. 

prize  (=value),  200. 

1  86. 

'od?  pittikins,  209. 

probation  (=proof),  222. 

limbmeal,  186. 

of  (=by),  200. 

profane  (accent),  184. 

line,  182. 

of  (=on),  212. 

prone,  217. 

long  of,  22  1. 

of  's,  165. 

proof  (—experience),  1  77,  192. 

look  upon  (=face),  185. 

offered  mercy,  169.                   j  proof  (of  armour),  218. 

looks  us  like,  198. 

on  (=of),  1  68,  205.                      proof  (=trial).  188. 

loud'st,  198. 

opened  (—disclosed),  218.         proper  (=goodly),  195. 

lover  (feminine),  220. 

oppositions,  201.                          proper  (=own),  203. 

loyal'st,  166.                                 or  (=before),  185.                       prunes  (verb),  217. 

Lucina,  216.                               |  or  ere  (—before),  190,  214.         pudency,  187. 

Lud's  town,  187,  203.              j  orbs  (Ptolemaic),  222. 

put  on  (—incite),  212. 

'  ordered  (=disciplined),  185. 

puttock,  168. 

mad  (verb),  181,  209.                1  ordinance,  204. 

made  fault,  200.                           other  (plural),  205. 

quarrellous,  196. 

made  much  on,  205.                 !  out-craftied,  193.                      '  quartered  fires,  211. 

made  scruple,  220.                      out-peer,  200.                            '  quench  (intransitive),  173. 

230 


INDEX  OF  WORDS  AND  PHRASES  EXPLAINED. 


ramps,  178. 

simular,  220. 

tender  (=  presentation),  179. 

rangers,  182. 

single  oppositions,  201. 

tender  of,  198. 

rank  (play  upon),  180. 

Sinon's  weeping,  194. 

tent  (=probe),  196. 

raps,  176. 

sir,  179,  219. 

Tereus,  181. 

rar'st,  219. 

slaughter-man,  214. 

that  (affix),  198. 

ravening,  176. 

slight  in  sufferance,  198. 

thee  (=thou),  173. 

ready  (=dressed),  183. 
reason  (=talk),  202. 

slip  you,  210. 
snuff,  177. 

then  to  shift  it,  168. 
there  be,  187. 

reck  (=care),  204. 

so  (=be  it  so),  181,  197. 

thereto  (^besides),  211. 

recoil  (=fall  off',  178. 

so  (omitted),  213,  216,  220. 

Thersites,  207. 

refts  (=reft'st),  193. 

solace  (intransitive),  177. 

thinks  scorn,  212. 

remain  (noun),  188. 

soldier  to,  197. 

those  ...  as,  222. 

render  (noun),  211. 

solicits  (noun),  182. 

three    thousand    confident, 

render  (=state,,  219. 

something  (adverb),  166,  172. 

213. 

resty,  200. 

sots  (—  fools',  220. 

throughfare,  168. 

retire  (noun),  213. 

south-fog  rot  him  !  184. 

throughly,  185,  200. 

revenue  (accent),  185. 

speak  him  far,  165. 

thunder-stone,  208. 

revolt  (—faithlessness),  178. 

speak  thick,  189. 

tinct,  1  80. 

revolts  (=  deserters),  211. 

spectacles-  (=eyes),  176. 

tir'st  on,  195. 

rip  thy  heart,  198. 

speed  (=fare),  217. 

to  (=compared  with),  192.  - 

ripely,  198. 

spirits  (monosyllable),  192- 

to  (=in  addition  to),  209. 

Romish,  179. 

spongy  south,  210. 

to  (omitted),  181. 

ruddock,  207. 

sprightly,  200. 

to  friend,  172. 

rud'st,  205. 

sprited  with,  184. 

to   the    note    o'    the   king, 

rushes  (for  floors),  180. 

spritely  shows,  223. 

211. 

spur  and  stop,  177. 

tomboys,  178. 

safe  (=sound),  204. 

spurs  (of  trees),  203. 

tongue  (verb),  217. 

saucy,  179. 

squire's  cloth,  184. 

touch  more  rare,  a,  168. 

saving  reverence  of,  201. 

staggers  (noun),  220. 

touch  my  shoulder,  214. 

say  you,  sir?  210. 

stand  (in  hunting),  182,  195. 

toys  (=trifles),  205. 

sayest  thou?  180. 

stand  (^withstand),  214. 

trims,  197. 

scar,  221. 

stand  for,  198. 

troth  (=truth),22i. 

scorn  (=mockery),  217. 

starve  (with  cold),  173. 

true  (^honest),  182. 

scriptures,  195. 

states  (—persons),  193. 

tune  (=voice),  220. 

sear,  167. 

statist,  185. 

turbans,  190. 

searched  (=sought),  218. 

stir  him,  202. 

twinned,  175- 

seasons  comfort,  174. 

story  (verb),  170. 

seconds  (noun),  214. 

straight-pight,  219. 

under  her  colours,  170. 

see  (=see  each  other),  167. 

strain  (—race),  202. 

undergo  (^undertake),  172, 

seek  us  through,  204. 
self  (—same),  178. 

strange  (^foreign),  177. 
stride  a  limit,  192. 

198. 
undertake  every  companion, 

self-figured,  184. 

such  .  .  .  that,  171,  178,  185, 

1  80. 

senseless  (double  meaning), 

190. 

unlustrous,  178. 

182. 

sufficeth  (=it  suffices),  218. 

unnumbered  (beach),  176. 

senseless  of,  168. 

summer  news,  193. 

unshaked,  180. 

set  on  (^march  on\  224. 

suppliant  (^auxiliary),  201. 

unspeaking,  220. 

set  up  (—instigate),  195. 

supplyment,  197. 

untwine  with,  203. 

shaked,  174. 

supreme  (accent),  174. 

up  (=put  lip),  1  86. 

shall  (=will),  196. 

sur-addition,  165. 

up-cast,  1  80. 

shall  's,  207,  220. 

sweet'  st,  222. 

upon  a  desperate  bed,  210. 

shame  (=modesty),  213. 

swerve  (=err),  217- 

upon  our  note,  211. 

shameless-desperate.  218. 

synod,  216. 

utterance,  at,  188. 

sharded  beetle,  191.  226. 

shes,  169,  176. 

tables  (—letters^,  189. 

vantage,  169,  182,  220. 

shift  his  being,  173. 

take  in  (—subdue),  188,  204. 

venge,  177. 

shop  (^storehouse),  220. 

take  me  up,  180. 

verbal  (=  verbose),  184. 

short  (verb),  179. 

take  off  some  extremity,  193. 

vomit  emptiness,  176. 

shot  (=  reckoning),  217. 

take  or  lend,  199. 

voyage  upon  her,  173. 

:shrew  me,  184. 

targes,  217. 

shrine  (=image),  219. 
Sienna's  brother,  210. 

tasting  of,  221. 
taught  of,  220. 

wage  (=wager),  172. 
wake   mine  eyeballs  blind, 

sign  (=outward  show),  169. 
silly  (^rustic),  214. 

temper  (=mix),  221. 
Tenantius,  165. 

T95- 
walk  (^withdraw),  168,  219. 

INDEX  OF  WORDS  AND  PHRASES  EXPLAINED. 


231 


wanton  (masculine),  201. 

warrant  of  bloody  affirma- 
tion, 171. 

watching,  185. 

weeds  (—  garments',  212. 

wench-like,  207. 

what  (—why1,  193. 

what  mortality  is!  201. 

what  thing  is  it!  212. 

whenas,  217,  224. 

whereon,  193. 

which  (—who),  184,  209. 

whiles,  173. 

whiter  than  the  sheets, 
1 80. 


who  (—whom),  179,  192,  203,     woe  is  my  heart,  217. 

218. 

woodman  (—  hunter),  199. 

whom  (=which),  207. 

words  him,  170. 

whom  (=who),  172. 

worms  (=serpents),  103. 

whose  mother  was  her  paint-     wrack,  177,  210. 

ing,  194.                                   ;  wrings  (--writhes),  200. 

will  not  from  it,  173. 

write  against,  187. 

windows  (=eyelids),  180. 

wrote  (=  written),  197. 

winds    of  all    the    corners,  ;  wrying,  212. 

185. 

winking,  182,  186,217. 

ye,  197. 

winter-ground,  207. 

year's  age,  167. 

wisely  definite,  176. 

yet  (transposed),  183,  224. 

witch  (masculine),  179. 

yond,  190. 

with  (—by),  184,  193. 

you  're  best  consider,  190. 

SHAKESPEARE. 

WITH  NOTES  BY  WM.  J.  ROLPB,  A.M. 


The  Merchant  of  Venice. 

The  Tempest. 

Julius  Caesar. 

Hamlet. 

As  You  Like  It. 

Henry  the  Fifth. 

Macbeth. 

Henry  the  Eighth. 

A  Midsummer -Night's  Dream. 

Richard  the  Second. 

Richard  the  Third. 

Much  Ado  About  Nothing. 

Antony  and  Cleopatra. 

Romeo  and  Juliet. 

Othello. 

Twelfth  Night. 

The  Winter's  Tale. 

King  John. 

Henry  IV.    Part  I. 

Henry  IV.    Part  II. 


King  Lear. 

The  Taming  of  the  Shrew. 

All >s  Well  That  Ends  Well. 

Coriolanus. 

Comedy  of  Errors. 

Cymbeline. 

Merry  Wives  of  Windsor. 

Measure  for  Measure. 

Two  Gentlemen  of  Verona. 

Lore's  Labour 's  Lost. 

Timon  of  Athens. 

Henry  VI.    Part  I. 

Henry  VI.     Part  II. 

Henry  VI.    Part  III. 

Troilus  and  Cressida. 

Pericles,  Prince  of  Tyre. 

The  Two  Noble  Kinsmen. 

Poems. 

Sonnets. 

Titus  Andronicus. 


ILLUSTRATED.     16MO,  CLOTH,  56  CTS.  PER  VOL.  ;  PAPER,  40  CTS.  PER  VOL. 


In  the  preparation  of  this  edition  of  the  English  Classics  it  has  been 
the  aim  to  adapt  them  for  school  and  home  reading,  in  essentially  the 
same  way  as  Greek  and  Latin  Classics  are  edited  for  educational  pur- 
poses. The  chief  requisites  are  a  pure  text  (expurgated,  if  necessary), 
and  the  notes  needed  for  its  thorough  explanation  and  illustration. 

Each  of  Shakespeare's  plays  is  complete  in  one  volume,  and  is  pre- 
ceded by  an  Introduction  containing  the  "  History  of  the  Play,"  the 
"  Sources  of  the  Plot,"  and  "  Critical  Comments  on  the  Play." 


From  HORACE  HOWARD  FURNESS,  Ph.D.,  LL.D.,  Editor  of  the  "New  Vario- 
rum Shakespeare" 

No  one  can  examine  these  volumes  and  fail  to  be  impressed  with  the 
conscientious  accuracy  and  scholarly  completeness  with  which  they  are 
edited.  The  educational  purposes  for  which  the  notes  are  written  Mr. 
Rolfe  never  loses  sight  of,  but  like  "a  well-experienced  archer  hits  the 
mark  his  eve  doth  level  at," 


Rolfe's  Shakespeare. 


From  F.  J.  FURNIVALL,  Director  of  the  New  Shakspere  Society,  London. 

The  merit  I  see  in  Mr.  Rolfe's  school  editions  of  Shakspere's  Plays 
over  those  most  widely  used  in  England  is  that  Mr.  Rolfe  edits  the  plays 
as  works  of  a  poet,  and  not  only  as  productions  in  Tudor  English.  Some 
editors  think  that  all  they  have  to  do  with  a  play  is  to  state  its  source 
and  explain  its  hard  words  and  allusions ;  they  treat  it  as  they  would  a 
charter  or  a  catalogue  of  household  furniture,  and  then  rest  satisfied. 
But  Mr.  Rolfe,  while  clearing  up  all  verbal  difficulties  as  carefully  as  any 
Dryasdust,  always  adds  the  choicest  extracts  he  can  find,  on  the  spirit 
and  special  "  note  "  of  each  play,  and  on  the  leading  characteristics  of  its 
chief  personages.  He  does  not  leave  the  student  without  help  in  getting 
at  Shakspere's  chief  attributes,  his  characterization  and  poetic  power. 
And  every  practical  teacher  knows  that  while  every  boy  can  look  out 
hard  words  in  a  lexicon  for  himself,  not  one  in  a  score  can,  unhelped, 
catch  points  of  and  realize  character,  and  feel  and  express  the  distinctive 
individuality  of  each  play  as  a  poetic  creation. 

From    Prof.  EDWARD   DOWDEN,  LL.D.,  of  th*  University  of  Dublin, 
Author  of '" Shakspere :   His  Mind  and  Art" 

I  incline  to  think  that  no  edition  is  likely  to  be  so  useful  for  school  and 
home  reading  as  yours.  Your  notes  contain  so  much  accurate  instruc- 
tion, with  so  little  that  is  superfluous ;  you  do  not  neglect  the  aesthetic 
study  of  the  play ;  and  in  externals,  paper,  type,  binding,  etc.,  you  make 
a  book  "  pleasant  to  the  eyes  "  (as  well  as  "  to  be  desired  to  make  one 
wise  ") — no  small  matter,  I  think,  with  young  readers  and  with  old. 

From  EDWIN  A.  ABBOTT,  M.A.,  Author  of '" Shakespearian  Grammar.'1'' 
I  have  not  seen  any  edition  that  compresses  so  much  necessary  infor- 
mation into  so  small  a  space,  nor  any  that  so  completely  avoids  the  com- 
mon faults  of  commentaries  on  Shakespeare — needless  repetition,  super- 
fluous explanation,  and  unscholar-like  ignoring  of  difficulties. 

From  HIRAM  CORSON,  M.A.,  Professor  of  Anglo-Saxon  and  English 

Literature,  Cornell  University,  Ithaca,  N.  Y. 

In  the  way  of  annotated  editions  of  separate  plays  of  Shakespeare,  for 
educational  purposes,  I  know  of  none  quite  up  to  Rolfe's. 


Rolfe's  Shakespeare. 


From  Prof.  F.  J.  CHILD,  of  Harvard  University. 

I  read  your  "  Merchant  of  Venice"  with  my  class,  and  found  it  in  every 
respect  an  excellent  edition.  I  do  not  agree  with  my  friend  White  in  the 
opinion  that  Shakespeare  requires  but  few  notes — that  is,  if  he  is  to  be 
thoroughly  understood.  Doubtless  he  may  be  enjoyed,  and  many  a  hard 
place  slid  over.  Your  notes  give  all  the  help  a  young  student  requires, 
and  yet  the  reader  for  pleasure  will  easily  get  at  just  what  he  wants. 
You  have  indeed  been  conscientiously  concise. 

Under  date  of  July  25,  1879,  Prof.  CHILD  adds :  Mr.  Rolfe's  editions 
of  plays  of  Shakespeare  are  very  valuable  and  convenient  books,  whether 
for  a  college  class  or  for  private  study.  I  have  used  them  with  my 
students,  and  I  welcome  every  addition  that  is  made  to  the  series.  They 
show  care,  research,  and  good  judgment,  and  are  fully  up  to  the  time  in 
scholarship.  I  fully  agree  with  the  opinion  that  experienced  teachers 
have  expressed  of  the  excellence  of  these  books. 

From  Rev.  A.  P.  PEABODY,  D.D.,  Professor  in  Harvard  University. 

\  regard  your  own  work  as  of  the  highest  merit,  while  you  have  turned 
the  labors  of  others  to  the  best  possible  account.  I  want  to  have  the 
higher  classes  of  our  schools  introduced  to  Shakespeare  chief  of  all,  and 
then  to  other  standard  English  authors ;  but  this  cannot  be  done  to  ad- 
vantage, unless  under  a  teacher  of  equally  rare  gifts  and  abundant  leisure, 
or  through  editions  specially  prepared  for  such  use.  I  trust  that  you 
will  have  the  requisite  encouragement  to  proceed  with  a  work  so  hap- 
pily begun. 

From  the  Examiner  and  Chronicle ',  N".  Y. 

We  repeat  what  we  have  often  said,  that  there  is  no  edition  of  Shake- 
speare's which  seems  to  us  preferable  to  Mr.  Rolfe's.  As  mere  specimens 
of  the  printer's  and  binder's  art  they  are  unexcelled,  and  their  other 
merits  are  equally  high.  Mr.  Rolfe,  having  learned  by  the  practical  ex- 
perience of  the  class-room  what  aid  the  average  student  really  needs  in 
order  to  read  Shakespeare  intelligently,  has  put  just  that  amount  of  aid 
into  his  notes,  and  no  more.  Having  said  what  needs  to  be  said,  he  stop: 
there.  It  is  a  rare  virtue  in  the  editor  of  a  classic,  and  we  are  propor- 
tionately grateful  for  it. 


Rolfe's  Shakespeare. 


From  the  N.  Y.  Times. 

This  work  has  been  done  so  well  that  it  could  hardly  have  been  clone 
better.  It  shows  throughout  knowledge,  taste,  discriminating  judgment, 
and,  what  is  rarer  and  of  yet  higher  value,  a  sympathetic  appreciation  of 
the  poet's  moods  and  purposes. 

From  the  Pacific  School  Journal,  San  Francisco. 
This  edition  of  Shakespeare's  plays  bids  fair  to  be  the  most  valuable 
aid  to  the  study  of  English  literature  yet  published.  For  educational  pur- 
poses it  is  beyond  praise.  Each  of  the  plays  is  printed  in  large  clear  type 
and  on  excellent  paper.  Every  difficulty  of  the  text  is  clearly  explained 
by  copious  notes.  It  is  remarkable  how  many  new  beauties  one  may  dis- 
cern in  Shakespeare  with  the  aid  of  the  glossaries  attached  to  these  books. 
.  .  .  Teachers  can  do  no  higher,  better  work  than  to  inculcate  a  love 
for  the  best  literature,  and  such  books  as  these  will  best  aid  them  in 
cultivating  a  pure  and  refined  taste. 

Front  the  Christian   Union,  N.  Y. 

Mr.  W.  J.  Rolfe's  capital  edition  of  Shakespeare — by  far  the  best  edi- 
tion for  school  and  parlor  use.  We  speak  after  some  practical  use  of  it 
in  a  village  Shakespeare  Club.  The  notes  are  brief  but  useful ;  and  the 
necessary  expurgations  are  managed  with  discriminating  skill. 

From  the  Academy,  London. 

Mr.  Rolfe's  excellent  series  of  school-editions  of  the  Plays  of  Shake- 
speare. .  .  .  Mr.  Rolfe's  editions  differ  from  some  of  the  English  ones 
in  looking  on  the  plays  as  something  more  than  word-puzzles.  They  give 
the  student  helps  and  hints  on  the  characters  and  meanings  of  the  plays, 
while  the  word-notes  are  also  full  and  posted  up  to  the  latest  date.  .  .  . 
Mr.  Rolfe  also  adds  to  each  of  his  books  a  most  useful  "  Index  of  Words 
and  Phrases  explained." 

PUBLISHED  BY  HARPER  &  BROTHERS,  NEW  YORK. 

&3F*  Any  of  the  above  "Works  will  be  sent  by  mail,  postage  prepaid,  to  any  part  of  the 
United  States,  on  receipt  of  the  price. 


OLIVER   GOLDSMITH. 

SELECT  POEMS  OF  OLIVER  GOLDSMITH.  Edited, 
with  Notes,  by  WILLIAM  J,  ROLFE,  A.M.,  formerly  Head 
Master  of  the  High  School,  Cambridge,  Mass.  Illus- 
trated. i6mo,  Paper,  40  cents  ;  Cloth,  56  cents.  (Uni- 
form with  Rolfe's  Shakespeare.} 


The  carefully  arranged  editions  of  "  The  Merchant  of  Venice  "  and 
other  of  Shakespeare's  plays  prepared  by  Mr.  William  J.  Rolfe  for  the 
use  of  students  will  be  remembered  with  pleasure  by  many  readers,  and 
they  will  welcome  another  volume  of  a  similar  character  from  the  same 
source,  in  the  form  of  the  "  Select  Poems  of  Oliver  Goldsmith,"  edited 
with  notes  fuller  than  those  of  any  other  known  edition,  many  of  them 
original  with  the  editor. — Boston  Transcript. 

Mr.  Rolfe  is  doing  very  useful  work  in  the  preparation  of  compact 
hand-books  for  study  in  English  literature.  His  own  personal  culture, 
and  his  long  experience  as  a  teacher,  give  him  good  knowledge  of  what 
is  wanted  in  this  way. —  The  Congregationalist,  Boston. 

Mr.  Rolfe  has  prefixed  to  the  Poems  selections  illustrative  of  Gold- 
smith's character  as  a  man  and  grade  as  a  poet,  from  sketches  by  Ma- 
caulay,  Thackeray,  George  Colman,  Thomas  Campbell,  John  Forster, 
and  Washington  Irving.  He  has  also  appended,  at  the  end  of  the 
volume,  a  body  of  scholarly  notes  explaining  and  illustrating  the  poems, 
and  dealing  with  the  times  in  which  they  were  written,  as  well  as  the 
incidents  and  circumstances  attending  their  composition.  —  Christian 
Intelligencer,  N.  Y. 

The  notes  are  just  and  discriminating  in  tone,  and  supply  all  that  is 
necessary  either  for  understanding  the  thought  of  the  several  poems,  or 
for  a  critical  study  of  the  language.  The  use  of  such  books  in  the  school- 
room cannot  but  contribute  largely  toward  putting  the  study  of  English 
literature  upon  a  sound  basis ;  and  many  an  adult  reader  would  find  in 
the  present  volume  an  excellent  opportunity  for  becoming  critically  ac- 
quainted with  one  of  the  greatest  of  last  century's  poets. — Appleton's 
Journal,  N.  Y. 

PUBLISHED  BY  HARPER  &  BROTHERS,  NEW  YORK. 

H3T"  Sent  by  mall,  postage  prepaid,  to  any  part  of  the  United  States,  on  receipt  of 

the  Price, 


THOMAS  GRAY. 

SELECT  POEMS  OF  THOMAS  GRAY.  Edited,  with 
Notes,  by  WILLIAM  J.  ROLFE,  A.M.,  formerly  Head 
Master  of  the  High  School,  Cambridge,  Mass.  Illus- 
trated. Square  i6mo,  Paper,  40  cents;  Cloth,  56  cents. 
(Uniform  with  Rolfe's  Shakespeare.} 


Mr.  Rolfe  has  done  his  work  in  a  manner  that  comes  as  near  to  per- 
fection as  man  can  approach.  He  knows  his  subject  so  well  that  he  is 
competent  to  instruct  all  in  it ;  and  readers  will  find  an  immense  amount 
of  knowledge  in  his  elegant  volume,  all  set  forth  in  the  most  admirable 
order,  and  breathing  the  most  liberal  and  enlightened  spirit,  he  being  a 
warm  appreciator  of  the  divinity  of  genius. — Boston  Traveller. 

The  great  merit  of  these  books  lies  in  their  carefully-edited  text,  and  in 
the  fulness  of  their  explanatory  notes.  Mr.  Rolfe  is  not  satisfied  with 
simply  expounding,  but  he  explores  the  entire  field  of  English  literature, 
and  therefrom  gathers  a  multitude  of  illustrations  that  are  interesting  in 
themselves  and  valuable  as  a  commentary  on  the  text.  He  not  only  in- 
structs, but  stimulates  his  readers  to  fresh  exertion  ;  and  it  is  this  stimu- 
lation that  makes  his  labors  so  productive  in  the  school-room. — Saturday 
Evening  Gazette,  Boston. 

Mr.  William  J.  Rolfe,  to  whom  English  literature  is  largely  indebted 
for  annotated  and  richly-illustrated  editions  of  several  of  Shakespeare's 
Plays,  has  treated  the  "  Select  Poems  of  Thomas  Gray  "  in  the  same  way 
— just  as  he  had  previously  dealt  with  the  best  of  Goldsmith's  poems. — 
The  Press,  Phila. 

Mr.  Rolfe's  edition  of  Thomas  Gray's  select  poems  is  marked  by  the 
same  discriminating  taste  as  his  other  classics. — Springfield  Republican. 

Mr.  Rolfe's  rare  abilities  as  a  teacher  and  his  fine  scholarly  tastes  ena- 
ble him  to  prepare  a  classic  like  this  in  the  best  manner  for  school  use. 
There  could  be  no  better  exercise  for  the  advanced  classes  in  our  schools 
than  the  critical  study  of  our  best  authors,  and  the  volumes  that  Mr.  Rolfe 
has  prepared  will  hasten  the  time  when  the  study  of  mere  form  will  give 
place  to  the  study  of  the  spirit  of  our  literature. — Lotiisville  Cotirier- 
Journal. 

An  elegant  and  scholarly  little  volume. — Christian  Intelligencer,  N.  Y. 


PUBLISHED  BY  HARPER  &  BROTHERS,  NEW  YORK. 

JSP"  Sent  by  mail,  postage,  prepaid,  to  any  part  of  the  United  States,  on  receipt  of  th& 
price  and  one  sixth  additional  for  postage. 


LOAN  DBPT 


YB  77458 


